Love Thine Enemy
by shnook35
Summary: A mysterious girl shows up in Mystic Falls, unfamiliar with the supernatural world in which she lives. Thrown into it head first, can she be comforted by Damon and be taught how to survive. The end of Season 2 is incorporated!
1. Prologue

_A mysterious girl show up in mystic falls unfamiliar with the mystic world that exists all around her. Thrown into it head first, can she be comforted by Damon and taught how to survive. _

**A/N: I have decided to try something a little new. For those of you reading my other fanfiction, do not fear. I will still be working on that one as well. This just came to me the other night and I had to at least try it out. This is not a Delena. Its Damon/OC, but will probably stick with what is going on in the series. No cannon characters this chapter. I just wanted to introduce the character that I have added and get something up on here to get it rolling. No other chapters will be this short. Hope you enjoy. Please tell me what you think :)**

Her heart was hammering in her chest as she drove, sweat pouring down her face. The only thing that she could think was that she was about to die.

"Please," she whispered to herself. "Just a few more miles. I'm almost there."

She had been driving for five and a half hours and the man had told her it would take six. Now if she could just find the small town she would be in the homestretch. It was dark now except for the faint light of the moon that shown from behind the clouds

That's when it started. Her skin tingled and her body hurt. Cramps shot through her body and she screamed as she slammed on the breaks. She breathed hard, her chest rising and falling rapidly and then the pain stopped. She steadied her shaking hands and stepped on the gas again.

_Almost there, _she thought to herself once more.

She drove a few more miles when she came across the sign she had been looking for. It was small and she would have missed it in the dark if she hadn't been looking. _Welcome to Mystic Falls, Home of the Timberwolves_. She smiled at herself, realizing that she was finally here. Now if she could only find—

And that's when the pain came back. Unbearable this time. Pulses of pain shot through her head and limbs. Her skin burned like it was on fire. She pulled over once again and slammed her balled fists into the dashboard. That's when she felt it coming. She was going to be sick.

She opened the car door and rushed into the nearby woods. Although it was probably the early morning hours before the sun would even began to show its head, she didn't want anyone to see her get sick. She ran farther into the forest, hearing the leaves and twigs rustle under her feet. Finally she collapsed against a tree and let herself get sick.

As she empty her stomach of any remaining substance on the ground, the searing hot pain that racked her body tripled in intensity. She screamed at the top of her lungs, and she felt herself falling. Before she hit the ground she was unconscious.


	2. Chapter One

**A/N: It has been a long time, but I really would like to continue this story know that it is summer break. Because so much has happened in the show since I originally decided to post this story, it is going to take a whole other approach. I want to tie it in with the last few chapters of the season so I can incorporate the season finale into it, which might make things a little confusing at first. I really want to incorporate Damon's werewolf bite. Things may not match up perfectly so bare with me. This chapter takes place as Elena and Elijah are out talking. Damon has discovered our main character out in the woods earlier in the morning… hope it's not too confusing…. Enjoy!**

I'm dead. I have to be. There is no way that I could have lived through the pain that I felt rip through my body. There is darkness all around me and I know when I open them I will probably be six feet under, either that or in Hell. Right now, I am not really sure what is worse.

As my eyelids part, I see dim light, stonewalls, and bars—metal bars all around me. Maybe I'm in prison. It wouldn't surprise me, but somehow I doubt it.

"Good morning starshine." A man's voice echoes off the walls, and I see him sitting on a chair outside the cell I am confined in, elbows on his knees. His cool blue eyes burn into me with a look that does not match his greeting, but despite their glare I can see worry and fatigue behind them. I clear my throat of the grogginess that has formed and ask the obvious.

"Wh-Where am I."

A cocky smile that does not reach his eyes spreads across his lips.

"Now is not the greatest time to be asking questions. I neither have the time nor the desire to answer them." He stands up from his chair and approaches the door to the cell I am in. He undoes the lock and I go to sit up. It is then that I realize that I can't. My arms are chained to the bench that I am laying on. I can't move.

"What the hell?" I mutter to myself. Then looking at him, "What is going on?"

"Again with the questions." He says, annoyance lacing his words. He enters the cells and shuts the door behind him. Now he stands directly across from me. "I am the one that needs to be asking the questions. We can even start with the easy questions if you want."

He pauses and then when I don't respond continues.

"You can start by telling me why you are here."

Wanting to know the answer to that same exact question, I respond, "You can start by answering the same exact question."

Before I know it, his hand flies into the air and against the side of my face. The impact on my cheek stings, and I gasp.

"I told you I don't have time for this," his face is hardened and his voice sharp. "If you don't start giving me some answers you're going to be very sorry. Now lets try this again. Why are you here?"

He looks at me expecting an answer, an answer I can't give him. I don't know why I am here in this cell. I hardly know why I am here in Mystic Falls, besides an old man's word that I could find help here and the gut instinct that he was right—both of which were obviously entirely wrong.

"Are you serious right now?" I wasn't going to be weak and let this guy just walk all over me. The cocky tone I took was probably going to be a bad idea, but at the moment I couldn't care less. "I already told you I don't know why I am here. Your guess is as good as mine, better even since it seems that you put me here. I really don't know what the hell you want from me."

The moment I said these things, I knew it was a mistake. The look in his eyes wasn't just one of annoyance or anger. It was a look of pure hate. For some reason this man hated me, hated my existence. The look in his face was proof.

His hand went into his pocket and he pulled out what looked like dried leaves. He came towards me.

"Lets start with a different question then, shall we?" His eyebrows rose at his question and a small smirk appeared on his lips. "Where are the rest of your little wolf friends? Did you come here with a pack? Are you meeting someone here? I know you don't usually travel alone."

"Wolf friends?"

"Yes, wolf friends. Other mutts like you," he spat out.

"I have no idea what you are—"

Before I could finish my sentence, he took the plant in his hand and slammed it against my neck. The pain that I felt then was second only to the pain that I felt the night before in the woods. His grip tightened around my throat and the plant burned into my skin.

"Please!" I screamed. "Please, I don't know! I don't know!"

"Tell me why your here and it will stop," he whispered angrily in my ear as his hand clenched tighter around my throat. "All I need is a reason your here, even if it's a name. Who else is here? Who are you traveling with?"

"I'm not traveling with anyone," I sobbed. "I-I don't know why I'm here. All I know is that I was suppose to meet someone, that they would help me."

His lips moved closer to my ear and his hand loosened a bit, a glimpse of the freedom I could obtain if I answered his questions.

"Who is it," he asked.

"Jules," I managed to say through my tears. "Her name is Jules. That's all I know."

Instead of the pain going away like he had promised, it intensified. His eyes grew red and the veins around them stood out black against his skin, and I could have sworn fangs appeared in his mouth. The man slammed my head against the wall and shoved the plant in his hand into my mouth.

My screams echoed against the stonewalls and I knew I was going to die.

**Meanwhile…..**

I stood outside the boarding house for less then five seconds before Stefan answered the door. Disappointment washed over his face when he opened the door and saw that it was me.

"Gosh Stefan, don't look so excited to see me." I rolled my eyes as I stepped past him into the house.

"Sorry Caroline," he responded. "I was hoping that it was Elena."

"She's not here?" I asked worriedly. "I couldn't get ahold of anyone so I figured she would be here. She isn't answering her phone and yours keeps going straight to voicemail."

The look on Stefan's voice was one of pure worry.

"Is everything ok?"

"Not really, but is it ever," he laughed uncomfortably. "Let me get you something to drink and I will fill you in."

Stefan walked into the kitchen and I retreated into the living room taking a seat on the couch. He returned with a glass of what tasted like O negative.

Stefan proceeded to fill me in on all things Elena. I couldn't get a hold of her because she was currently with Elijah, who she had just brought back to life. Neither of the brothers was taking this new development well, obviously.

"So if you stopped Damon from going after her, where is he, " I asked when he didn't appear during our conversation.

"That is where things get even more interesting," he said. "Damon is downstairs dealing with a new werewolf problem."

At that remark I gasped. Part of me hoped that the "new" werewolf problem was that Tyler had returned. The other part of me, the part that recognized the tone with which he said "problem", prayed that Tyler was no where near Damon at this moment.

"What werewolf problem," I asked hesitantly.

"Early this morning Damon apparently found an abandoned vehicle right outside of Mystic Falls. About a hundred yards into the woods he found a girl. She was missing most of her clothes and pretty banged up."

"Last night was a full moon," I interjected.

"Exactly. In her car, he found a print out of directions to Mystic Falls. She was definitely headed here for some reason, but we don't know why. Damon is downstairs with her now." Stefan looked uneasily at the cellar door.

"We don't know if she is bad, though." I reminded him quickly. "Innocent until proven guilty, right?"

"Sure, Caroline." He sounded defeated. "I told Damon to go easy, but he is pretty upset that I stopped him from going after Elena when she left with Elijah. Plus you know how he feels about werewolves right now."

No sooner had he said this than a blood-curdling scream sounded from below us. Underneath the sounds of the screams came Damon's low angry voice shouting back.

Instinctively, I stood up. Stefan remained sitting.

"Stefan! You're just going to sit there and listen to that?"

"I've already fought with him once today, Caroline. It's not worth it to do it again." He looked resigned and worried.

"You have got to be kidding me," I huffed as I turned towards the cellar door. Despite Stefan's protests from the couch, I headed towards the door, threw it open, and ran downstairs.

When I got to the bottom, I saw Damon with one hand against a young girls throat, the other holding a fist full of wolfsbane, covering her mouth. The girl was screaming and tears were ruling down her cheeks. Then her bright green eyes locked with mine as though pleading for my help.

Within seconds I was inside of the cell pulling Damon's hand that held the wolfsbane away from the girls mouth.

"Damon! What the hell," I screamed.

He whirled around to face me and as he did, his other hand left the girls throat. Without Damon pinning her to the wall, she fell to the ground.

"What?" Damon snarled at me, his eyes red with rage and thirst.

"What did she do that she deserved that?" I yelled into his face.

"She came to Mystic Falls," he responded, his words full of the hate that he had for the whole race.

"That doesn't mean that she is here to hurt anyone!"

"She is here for Jules!"

"I don't care," I said. "Do you think if Elena was here she would be okay with this?"

"I don't really give a damn what Elena would want," Damon said. "Incase you haven't heard, she is already making stupid-ass decisions that are putting her in danger."

"Get out." I said, trying to stay calm after his last comment.

"What?" He asked with a hint of laughter in his voice. "This is my house. You can't tell me to—"

"I don't care," I roared. "You have no idea what this girl's situation is Damon. If she's not giving you answers, she might not know the answers. Now go upstairs or something."

Amazingly he didn't say a word as he stormed out of the cell and up the stairs. I turned to see the girl on the ground, rubbing her throat and gasping for air on the ground. I bent down and looked her in the face.

"Are you okay?" I asked quietly.

"Y-yes," she coughed out. "What the hell was wrong with his eyes?"

"He's a vampire," I responded. I watched her stare at me dumbly at me as I got up and left—locking the cell behind me.

**A/N: Before anyone comments about inconsistencies, I know that there is no way it could be a full moon the night before and be a full moon again a few nights later… but that's the only way I could fit it all together. It will get less sketchy I promise. Hehe. **

**Hope you liked it**


	3. Chapter Two

**A/N: New Chapter is up…taking full advantage of the week of no school : ) This chapter may be a bit confusing. Trying to get to the point where this story can coincide with the finale and continue from there. Bare with me.**

"What the hell is your problem," I heard Caroline shouting as she followed me across the living room and into the kitchen for a much needed glass of scotch. "She doesn't know anything, Damon."

"Do you really believe that? I found her half naked in the woods, Caroline. There was a werewolf practically in my backyard last night. Why else would she be here but to attack us? This is Jules's idea. She can't be satisfied with killing one vampire; she has to have us all. There is no way this is just a coincidence."

Caroline just looked at me in disbelief.

"And what if it is? What if it is just a coincidence? That means you would have just almost killed an innocent girl."

"That's one thing you all are going to have to learn, Caroline. There's no such thing as an innocent werewolf," I replied. With those words I left Caroline standing in the kitchen and I headed up to my room.

Once there I collapsed on my bed, Caroline's words running through my head. _What if it's just a coincidence? _

It didn't matter really. Werewolves were a threat. They needed to be killed. But for some reason, the girl's eyes kept flashing into my head. The bright green eyes, puffy with tears. Tears that were caused by me, by my anger.

…

**Caroline**

After talking to Stefan and convincing him to give the girl a chance, I went down to the cellar to let her come upstairs to shower and eat. Stefan was too worried about Elena to think about anything else. I found her sitting on the bench in the cell with her knees pulled tightly into her chest. There were tearstains down her cheeks.

"Hey," I said, trying to sound friendly. "I talked to Stefan and he said that you could come upstairs and get a shower. No offense, but you kinda need it."

She looked down at her mud-caked skin that contrasted with the clothes that the Salvatores had put her in when they brought her here.

"Is Stefan the man that was down here earlier," she asked looking straight ahead at the wall. I sighed.

"No, that was Damon. You'll have to excuse him. He is still a little sore from the last werewolf that came to town so—"

"Werewolf?" she inquired quietly.

"Oh…um…ya. How about I explain some things first."

I walked over to the cell and let myself in. The girl scooted over and I sat beside her.

"I guess we should probably start with introductions," I cleared my throat and tried to look cheerful. "Hi! I'm Caroline."

Clearly thrown off by my cheerfulness, she stumbled out her response.

"I-I'm Riley," she said.

"Okay Riley," I began. "I don't have a lot of time to explain. The first thing you have to get past is that vampires and werewolves are real. Once you believe that the rest isn't so hard. You're a werewolf. You phased on last night's full moon. Damon found you, and because he's a vampire he really doesn't like you, hence the screaming and stuff."

Once I had said it all, I realized that I shouldn't have spilled it all out at once. The fact that she was overwhelmed was so obvious.

"Listen, lets go upstairs and you can get a shower. We can talk after, k?"

Riley nodded.

I took her hand lead her out of the cell and up the stairs.

"Damon's probably moping up in his room, so you won't have to worry about him right now, " I started to explain.

"He lives here?" she almost gasped.

"Um..ya. This is his house."

"I don't want to stay here," she said. Fear was creeping into her eyes as she frantically looked around like a caged animal. Once again I sighed.

"Listen, Riley. Stefan said the only way you could come upstairs is if I convinced you that you had to stay. I'm the only one right now that totally trusts you have no idea what's going on. Plus with everything that's going on in Mystic Falls right now you really don't want to leave, believe me."

"What's going on…."

"Again, conversation for later," I explained.

She finally seemed confident enough to head upstairs, so I showed her to the spare bedroom and bathroom.

"Go ahead and shower in here," I told her. "I'm going to tell my friend Elena to bring up something to eat in a bit. She should be here soon."

Once I heard the shower start up, I relaxed a bit and went downstairs to let Stefan know what was going on and ask him if he and Elena could look after Riley until tomorrow morning.

…

**Damon**

After calming myself down to the point that I knew I wouldn't kill anyone, I headed downstairs.

"Nice to see your done brooding," came the voice of my brother.

"You're really not one to talk, Stefan," I replied angrily. "Where is Caroline? I need to have a word with her."

"She left after taking care of Riley."

"Who the hell is Riley?" I spat.

"The girl that you decided you needed to torture downstairs, Damon," Stefan replied with annoyance. "I didn't think you would bother with introductions."

Ignoring his comment all together, I added, "And the wolf is still downstairs?"

"No, _Riley_ is upstairs in the spare bedroom getting a shower."

I didn't even respond to his answer. A growl escaped my throat and I ran upstairs, throwing the bedroom door open within half a second of leaving Stefan. Steam filled the air from the hot shower water that was running in the bathroom. I slammed the bathroom door open and pulled the shower curtain open to reveal—nothing. Just an empty shower.

Anger built up in my throat as I bellowed: "Stefan!"

…..

**Riley**

I had been running for about 20 minutes when I found what I was looking for. The vacancy light outside of the motel blinked intermittently and the place looked it hadn't had a seen a good year since the 90's. I stepped into the office, preparing myself to give a sob story about why I had no money, but there was no one there. Then came a noise of running water from a side room that was most likely a restroom. Before the manager could appear, I quickly grabbed a key to a random room off the wall and left. Hopefully whoever was managing tonight wouldn't notice.

Once in my room, I quickly shed my clothes and jumped into the shower, turning the water up as high as it would go. The water felt refreshing after the horrible week I had been having. I smiled at the thought that at this moment someone could have been discovering that I had escaped.

I had thought about staying. Caroline seemed nice enough and with others around I was sure that I could handle Damon, but I knew that I needed to get away to find the woman that I had come to Mystic Falls for. So, once I had the shower going and Caroline left, I hurried to the bedroom window and I jumped. Luckily, I hadn't hurt myself and I was able to find a place to stay. Tomorrow I would start my search for Jules.

The next morning I woke late. My dreams had been filled with vampires and werewolves. That and a pain that was almost real. Hands clamped around my neck. The burning of the dried leaves.

When I was finally up and about, I wondered aimlessly through town for a while, stopping people randomly, going up to shopkeepers, asking them if they knew anyone by the name of Jules. It probably wasn't the best idea after seeing Damon's reaction to the mere mention of her name, but I didn't know what else to do.

After a few hours of nothing but blank stares and shaking heads, I came across a place that looked like a lot of people were gathered—the Mystic Grill. Deciding I would try my luck there, I went in and got a seat at the bar.

"What can I get for you miss?" the bartender asked.

"Oh. Nothing," I replied. "Unless you can help me find someone. Her names Jules."

"Nope, sorry doesn't ring a bell," he replied, as he turned away to the next customer.

Dejected, I turned to leave when I heard a voice coming from behind me.

"I know a Jules."

I swirled around in my bar stool to come face to face with a man, an extremely good-looking man.

"Really!" I said with excitement. "That's great. I've been looking for her and I can't seem to find her. Do you perhaps know where she lives?"

"Yes, I do," he said with a smile. "I'm actually headed to that part of town myself. If you want, I could drop you off."

Amazed at my good fortune, I gladly accepted the offer.

"I don't have any money on me or anything, but I could pay you for gas or something when we get there," I offered, trying to show my appreciation.

"Don't worry about it. The pleasure is mine."

The man led me out to his car and opened the passenger side door.

"After you, my lady." He chivalrously took my hand as I took my seat. Then he circled the car and took his seat behind the steering wheel.

"Hope you don't mind," he said, his smile growing suddenly menacing. "But we have to make a quick detour first."

Before I could answer, hands came from behind the seat and placed a cloth over my mouth. I tried to scream, but it came out muffled and quiet. As I slowly lost consciousness, I heard the man talking calmly to the person behind me.

"Thank you, Greta. We can't have any loose ends hanging around asking for our sacrificial werewolf can we?"

There was a woman's laugh.

"No, we can't," she replied

"Plus it's always nice to have a second spare in case something goes unexpectedly. I've waited to long to not be cautionous."

**A/N: Hope you like it. Reviews are appreciated:) Let me know if things are confusing and I can try to clear things up. Next chapter will contain "The Sun Also Rises"!**


	4. Chapter Three

**Riley's POV**

I woke up in a huge bare room. My shoulders were in pain, and I soon realized that it was because my arms were chained awkwardly to the wall.

"Crap, not again," I whispered.

This was getting old. I pulled at my restraints as hard as I could to no avail.

"Damon!" I screamed. "Let me out of here!"

"Damon?" The question was asked by a woman's voice.

I looked in the direction that it had come from and saw a woman in the same position as me on the opposite wall.

"Damon Salvatore?" she asked again.

"Sure, I guess," I answered. "The crazy vampire who likes chaining me up all the time apparently."

I huffed and struggled against the cuffs on my wrists again.

"Damon didn't do this," the woman responded. "He said his name was Klaus. He was here when I woke up earlier. He's trying to break the sun and moon curse."

"What?" I asked. Fear starting to creep into me as I found out this wasn't exactly what I thought. "What's the sun and moon curse?"

"It doesn't matter now." She shook her head. "He'll sacrifice one of us to break the curse, but there is still no way either of us is coming out alive."

My breath caught in my throat.

"What?" I croaked. "No…I."

Then I stopped. She had said that she was a werewolf. Maybe I could get some answers. My need for information momentarily overruled my fears of what she had just said. The hell that I had been through for the past month might finally be explained.

"You're a werewolf?" I almost shouted my question. "Do you know Jules? I don't know her last name. I was sent here to find her."

She looked at me as if she would have found this question funny had we been in different circumstances.

"You're looking at her," she said with a sigh.

At those words, tears welled up in my eyes.

"I've been looking for you. I-I was." I stopped to get my mind around what I should say. I decided to be honest, or at least as honest as time would allow.

"I-I killed someone," I admitted. "I had to run because they were looking for me. Then all this stuff started happening to my body. I know it sounds crazy but this man—he said he was a clairvoyant—he told me to come to Mystic Falls, that you could help me."

Jules just stared back.

"Hunny," she began. "I think you should get your money back because he's not telling you something if he led you into this."

My heart sunk. After coming all this way, how could this be all she had to offer?

"No!" I shouted. "We'll escape. You can help me. You can tell me what is happening to me!"

"Listen, I'm sorry. I could have helped you. I would have loved to have helped you, but it's over now. It doesn't matter. This vampire—the guy that has us trapped in here—he is too powerful. There is nothing I can do. Nothing I could tell you about what has happened to you is going to matter because we are going to die."

Jules went quiet then. She leaned her head back against the wall and I saw tears running down her cheeks.

It hit me then that that this was the end. The man that brought me here was going to kill me, and I couldn't change that. Death seemed like such a scary thing when it was right in front of you. I thought back to the man I had killed before this had all started, the look in his face when he knew he was going to die, and I started to cry.

"I don't want to die," I whimpered.

And that is the pain started.

**Damon's POV**

Approaching Ric's apartment, I took a deep breath. Rubbing something like I had just done in the face of an original wasn't the best idea, but it needed to be done. Klaus had to know that his plan was foiled, at least for tonight. A month would give Elena the needed time to get my blood out of her system, and it would give Stefan and I time to come up with a plan if Klaus let me live—not to mention I still needed to find out where the hell our werewolf had gotten.

I flung the door aside and entered.

"I wasn't aware you were invited in," Klaus said without turning to look at me.

Deciding not to acknowledge his statement, I got directly to what I was there to tell him.

"I've come to tell you that you have to postpone the ritual."

I expected my words to infuriate him and be a reason for him to lash out at me, but he didn't. He sat calmly, still refusing to look at me.

"Didn't we already have this conversation?"

I smiled.

"Yes. But that was before I rescued your vampire and werewolf and killed your witch."

This brought out his anger. He stood from his chair, staring angrily at me.

"Katerina, give us a moment," he said, not taking his eyes from me as he addressed her. I knew that this is the moment that I would die. Hell, I was not match for an original. But at the moment I really couldn't have cared less.

"I've heard about you," Klaus said calmly. "The crazy, impulsive vampire, in love with his brother's girl."

With those words he turned his back to me and walked across the room.

"I knew one of you would try to stop me. It was just a 50/50 guess on who."

At this my heart sank, as I waited for him to continue. However, he didn't. He reached towards his computer and pressed play. That is when I saw Jules locked inside Fells Warehouse. She was on the ground groveling and crying.

"The nice thing about werewolves is that they tend to travel in packs," he said with a smile. "Need a closer look?"

Without waiting for an answer, Klaus unplugged his phone from the computer and tossed it to me. I looked at the screen. Jules had her arms chained to the walls, her body jerked and her screams grew louder.

"Jules."

Seeing her in pain surprisingly did not make me as happy as I had always dreamed that it would. Most likely because it meant that my plan was destroyed. I really could care less about what happened to that bitch.

"Oh and that's not all," Klaus went on. "When you're done watching that one, you can watch the second."

Hearing those words, I clicked to the next video expecting to see another, more gruesome video of what Jules was going through. I, however, was completely wrong and not prepared at all for what I was about to see.

Arranged in about the same position as Jules was the werewolf that I had locked in my cellar just a day before—Riley. Her screams were familiar, but were now entirely worse. Her body racked in pain as she fought her restraints. I started in disbelief, not sure how to react to the pain that she was facing.

"You look…. surprised." Klaus's words shocked me back into reality. Standing there, I didn't know how to respond. I didn't have to.

"When you spend a thousand years trying to break a curse, you learn a thing or two," Klaus said menacingly, as he circled me. Riley's screams were still echoing out of the phone. "First rule, always have a backup. Backup werewolf. Backup witch."

"Backup vampire," I finished for him.

Those are the last words I remembered, as he came at me.

…..

"Hey, Damon"

Her voice sounded like it was coming through a tunnel and her hand slapped against my cheek. The taste of bagged blood was on my tongue.

Katherine.

I opened my eyes to see the ceiling of Alaric's apartment and the nights events slowly started to return to my mind.

"What the hell happened," I muttered.

Katherine's voice came in a hurried panic.

"He's gone. He went to do the ritual. I'm sorry. He would have known that I was on vervain if I didn't do it."

I slowly began to pick myself up off the floor.

"Do what," I asked annoyed.

"Klaus," Katherine said. "He made me call her to lure her out. He needed another vampire."

The beginnings of dread crept through my veins as I asked the obvious.

"Who did you call Katherine?"

"Jenna," she said in little more than a whisper.

I jumped to my feet in a flash of anger. He had Elena, Riley, and now Jenna. This night couldn't get any worse.

"Why didn't he use me?" I asked. It seemed like the natural thing to do. I was here. He had me trapped, but instead he attacked me and left me. I could leave if I chose and he couldn't stop me. I was the obvious choice, or so I thought.

"He couldn't," Katherine responded. "Damon, he said you were as good as dead."

"What does that even mean?"

"What does it mean?" Her voice contained a mixture of fear and sarcasm as she grabbed for my arm. "What is this Damon?"

It was then that I realized that my night could get a whole hell of a lot worse.

Katherine pulled the cuff of my shirt back and I immediately saw the object of her fear. My arm was visibly darkening. It looked like someone had taken a video of skin dying and rotting and sped the film.

In my minds eye I saw Rose, her shoulder deteriorating, the rage and helplessness in her eyes as I watched her become animalistic as she died.

I took a deep breath to steady myself.

"It's a werewolf bite."

**Riley's POV**

I could not tell how long the pain had been racking my body. Wave after wave of stabbing pain hit me so hard that my body was physically jolting forward every few minutes. It would start out slow and build to an almost unbearable crescendo of agony that each time I felt that I would do anything to stop the pain—even welcome death. Then the pain would slowly subside just the way it came until it all but disappeared. Stupidly, each time this happened I wondered if it was over and it would start back up again.

After what seemed like hours of pain and echoing screams between myself and Jules, Jules spoke from the other side of the room. Her voice was cracked with over use from the screaming.

"This isn't right… It should be over by now."

I was about to respond when the creak of a metal, warehouse door opened. Klaus and the woman that I assumed attacked me earlier in the car appeared before us.

Klaus gave each of us a quick look and started towards Jules. The woman stood silently near the door, not looking the least bit upset by the situation.

I look back from her to Klaus as he drew towards Jules. He bent down to her level and took a key from his back pocket. As he started to undo her shackles, she spit in his face and growled at him.

"Don't. Touch. Me." She said through gritted teeth.

His hand raised and came down to smack the side of her face. Her head whipped to the side and she whimpered. Through all of this he didn't say a word. He jerked Jules to her feet once the shackles were off her wrists and threw her to the woman standing off to the side.

"Take her to the car Greta," he finally said. "I'm going to be a moment."

Greta left with a struggling Jules and Klaus casually approached me. My muscles ached from the last bout of pain that raged through my body. I could feel the pain building again and I winced.

"I'm so sorry things ended up this way, Riley," Klaus said slyly. "I do feel some pity for all of this."

"Please… help me," I begged, though I knew he would take no pity on me. "What's happening to me?"

"The woman that was in here earlier—Greta—she cast a spell. You transformation is slowing down incase we would need you to take Jules' place in the sacrifice. At this moment your insides are trying to tear themselves free. I suspect it is painful?"

His last words was more of a sick question then a statement. I opened my mouth to tell him to go to Hell but a scream escaped instead.

"Interesting…" he responded. "Well you should know that when tonight is over, I shall come to collect you. The new order will need more than a witch to support it. You shall leave with the two of us in the morning."

With those words, Klaus turned on his heel and left the factory, slamming the metal door as he exited.


	5. Chapter Four

**A/N: I'm back! I had a three week course for school that killed me! Now that it is over I am back to writing. I'm going to try to post a chapter a week, hopefully every Sunday. I am also starting a new fanfic to follow the season finale (OMG what a surprise ) and take things the way I think they should go, so be looking for that. Not sure of a title yet, but if you sign up for author alerts that shouldn't be a problem.**

**Just a FYI for this chapter—Klaus dies during the sacrifice for this fanfic. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

I approached the abandoned house with Elena lying limply in my arms, her body becoming heavier with each step. It was then that I realized that it was me getting weaker. The bite on my arm stung as I crossed the threshold of the home, and I winced in pain. The sacrifice was over. Klaus was dead. However, these things would never make me truly happy if Elena was dead, or worse than that—a vampire that would hate me for eternity, even after I was dead in the next few days.

"If you come back as a vampire, I'll stake you myself, so don't," I whispered to dead ears as I placed Elena on the moth eaten couch. "Because I can't stand the idea of you hating me forever. "

The deep wounds on her neck pieced my heart, and I prayed to whoever or whatever might be listening that she would awake as the human girl that I loved and not the creature that she despised.

Suddenly, Ric and Jeremy came running into the room.

"How is she?" asked Jeremy.

"I don't know yet," I said, not taking my eyes off of his sister.

Then came Ric's voice from behind me, asking the question that I dreaded answering the most.

"What about Jenna?"

I turned to look at him. He deserved a straight answer, but I couldn't force myself to tell the two of them the news that could be their breaking points. Ric knew the answer anyway.

"No," he gasped.

I turned to Jeremy.

"I'm sorry Jeremy," I said. The look in his eyes was one of disbelief. The amount of pain that the boy had been through recently was staggering. Amazingly, he hadn't broken yet. If Elena didn't wake up… I didn't know if he would be able to stay strong.

I turned back to Elena, waiting for John's sacrifice, hoping for it to work.

When Elena's eyes opened and she took her first breath, I breathed the biggest sigh of relief. Her heart hammered beneath her chest, proving that John's sacrifice had trumped my blood.

My name sounded on her lips as she saw me. Jeremy and Ric crowed around the couch. In the distance I could hear John's steps and then his final heart beat.

Elena's eyes opened wide then as if suddenly remembering something important that she had forgotten.

"Jenna!" she cried out. "Oh no Jenna."

She tried to get up but a firm hand to her shoulder held her in place.

"Elena…" I started

"Damon, Jenna's dead," she said as she crumpled into a ball on the couch. "He sacrificed them. Jenna and Jules are gone."

At the sound of Jules name, I was reminded of the images Klaus had shown me earlier that night before his death and the sounds of Riley's screams echoed through my head.

Through Elena's soft crying I asked if she had seen the werewolf that had escaped the boarding house earlier in the clearing. Elena sniffed and looked up at me.

"No…" she said. "She wasn't there."

…..

I woke up on the cold hard floor of the factory remembering everything. The slow incessant pain building within my body, my screams echoing around me with no one to hear them, and the thing I had become. I trembled from the memory and the chilly floor I was sitting on. My clothes were scattered around me in tiny pieces, the jacket I was wearing when Klaus brought me here the only thing that remained in one piece after my slow and violent transformation. It was just within my reach so I grabbed it and wrapped it around myself. I knew that it was just a matter of time before Klaus would be back.

It was then that I heard the car from outside and then the breaking of the lock on the door. I held my breath as I waited for my captor to enter. The industrial doors slid open with a loud creak and sunlight flooded the open room. When my eyes adjusted to the change in light, I saw that the man standing in the opening was not who I had expected—it was Damon Salvatore.

…

When I caught sight of her, I automatically relaxed. After all the death that I had experienced recently, it was good to see that some people involved in this mess were able to make it out alive. I made my way towards her and she automatically tightened her grip on the jacket she had covered herself with and pulled her knees closer to her chest. Without saying a word, I took her wrists and broke the chains that were holding her.

"Klaus… he'll be coming back," she said frantically.

"Klaus is dead. I'm taking you back to the boarding house…" I paused, contemplated my next words and squatted down next to her. "Listen, I made some assumptions the other night that I shouldn't of."

I stopped there. It wasn't the best apology ever, but she was lucky that she was getting that. She was still a mystery to me, not to mention a member of a race that I hated even if it wasn't her fault.

At those words, however, tears came to her eyes and balanced precariously on her lower lids, refusing to fall.

"No, you were right. I'm a monster," she said as she looked at her feet. "I remember everything. I deserve to die. I don't want to be this thing."

Not knowing how to respond to her confession, I took my jacket off and draped it over her own and around her shoulders.

"Come on," I said, as I reached for her arm and helped her to her feet.

When she was about half way to her feet, she collapsed. Her muscles were stiff from not being used throughout the night. I picked her up cradling her in my arms. Surprisingly, she didn't resist.

After I had her settled into the passenger's seat, I took my place at the wheel and started driving, but not towards the boarding house—not yet. I grabbed my phone and dialed Stefan's number.

"What's up?"

"I have to make a quick stop and then I'll be back to get ready for the funeral," I said as I stopped at the traffic light. I looked over at Riley and saw her staring blindly out of the window.

"Is everything ready for the funeral?" Stefan's voice lowered as he said this. He was obviously still with Elena.

"Yes there's plenty of room at the Gilbert family plot, and I compelled two the gravediggers to do the dirty work on my way to the warehouse." I sighed. "Are you sure it's wise to be doing this so soon?" The light turned green and I turned left onto Fairview as I waited for Stefan's response.

"Elena and Jeremy both agree that they should get it over with. Waiting isn't going to bring their aunt and uncle back. Plus I think it's better for Elena this way."

There was something in this last sentence that made me think that he had other reasons to rush the burial, but I didn't push.

"How is she doing?" I asked, knowing full well that the answer was in no way going to make me happy.

"She lost the only parent she had," Stefan said coldly. "She's in shock, but things will get better with time. Thanks to John that's something that she has."

"Thank you, Uncle John," I responded with a bite in my tone to combat the cold way he addressed me. "See you in a few, brother."

By the time I was off the phone, I had arrived at my destination. I turned to Riley, her forehead resting on the window.

"I'll be right back," I said. "No running this time, okay?"

I saw her head nod a fraction of an inch and took that as agreement. With that, I left the car and headed to the front door of the house and knocked quickly. The door opened almost as soon as my hand had left the wood the third time.

"What do you want?" Bonnie's icy tone was exactly what I had expected. I had almost turned her best friend into a vampire, and she wasn't the forgiving type.

"It's wonderful to see you as well, Bonnie," I said with a sarcastic smile.

Bonnie was dressed in sleek black dress. Stefan must have called her to tell her about the funeral that was happening unexpectedly fast. She was fastening an earring into her ear as she gave me a look that told me I better act fast.

"Listen, I know that I'm not your favorite vampire in the world right now, but I have a favor to ask and you can't tell Elena or Stefan."

"And what makes you think that I'm going to help you?"

"The fact that no matter how much you hate me right now, I know that you would never intentionally let me die."

With those words I pulled back the sleeve of my shirt to reveal the bite that had grown darker and more gruesome looking in just the past few hours. Bonnie took a sharp breath in as she realized what she was looking at.

"All I am asking is for you to help me look for a cure," I said. "That and to keep quiet about it. I don't want Stefan and Elena worrying about this right now. They've been through enough."

When Bonnie responded her voice was shaking.

"Ok. I'll see what I can do. I'll start looking as soon as I get back from the cemetery."

"Thank-you," I said, and I made my way back to my car.

Arriving back at home, I circled the car and opened the passenger's side door to help Riley out. When I reached for her though, she pushed away my hand.

"I've got it," she said as she stood from the car, wincing.

"I know this is really rushed, but I'm leaving almost as soon as we get in the house," I explained as we walked to the door. "Feel free to eat something and shower. I'm sure Elena has some leftovers in the fridge and you can use the shower in my room if you want, it's the best in the house. When I get back we can all sit down and figure out what to do with you. Just stay in the house ok? I promise I'll be more civilized this time around."

I opened the front door for her as she walked in. She turned to me and a faint smile traced her lips.

"Sounds good."

Relieved at her response, I showed her upstairs to my bedroom, pointed to the towels and grabbed some clothes to change into before leaving her alone.

Stefan was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs when I had changed, a stern expression on his face. I could tell that it was taking everything he had to master the despair he was feeling. He was dressed in a black suit and tie countering my black slacks and button down black shirt.

"I'm going to go pick Elena up," he said as he cleared his throat. "I'll see you there."

I nodded my head and watched him walk out of the door. Then I made my way to the liquor cabinet, poured myself a scotch, and headed for my car.

Everyone was waiting for me at the Gilbert plot when I got to the cemetery. Stefan was comforting Elena, his hand on her back, drawing small circles with his thumb. Bonnie looked at me with a sad look in her eyes. Without a word we walked towards the unmarked graves of Jenna and John. Elena placed roses where they lay and then silently did the same to the graves of her parents a few feet away. It was then that she started to cry and I felt myself unraveling. The heartbreak I saw in Elena's eyes cut me to the core.

I had lived for such a long time that death didn't seem important anymore. I had taken more lives than I could count. It was the pain that I saw death cause the girl that I loved that made me remember the magnitude of that loss. It was then that I realized that I couldn't ever tell her about the bite that was burning my arm. If Bonnie couldn't find a cure within the next couple days, I would leave and die somewhere where Elena wouldn't have to know what had happened. I just needed to gain what little forgiveness I could before that could happen, however selfish that might be.

I walked away from the scene before me into a small lot of graves a few yards away from the funeral party. I rubbed my arm as I looked into the sun, realizing that my days where most likely very numbered, wondering if I would even be able to appreciate the warmth of the sun in a day or two.

I turned to look back at the Gilbert plot and saw most of the others walking towards the cars they had come in. Their heads bent in reverence and their voices low. Elena was standing alone now at the grave of her parents. I walked over to her.

"Elena," I started. "I'm so sorry."

She continued looking down at the headstone, tears in her eyes.

"For what?" She asked.

"For your loss, for everything we brought when we came to Mystic Falls, and most of all for what I did yesterday, feeding you my blood. It was wrong—"

"Yes it was." Her voice was strong and she turned towards me, there were tears beading up in her eyes and anger in her face.

"Elena, I know I don't deserve anything from you, least of all your forgiveness, but I need it." My voice cracked at these last words. Everything rested on her response. I could die without this regret if only she would free me from it.

"I can't give that to you just like that, Damon. I need time. Maybe a lot of time."

My heart fell at those words. Time was the one thing that I might not have, but she was right. It wasn't as simple as I would like to make it out to be. I had taken away the one thing she had in this whole battle with Klaus—her small choice of how it would all end. I couldn't ask for anymore than she was giving me.

"Of course, take all the time that you need." The words came out in little more than a whisper as she walked away from me.

I walked slowly back to my car, dragging my feet the whole way. I would go home, deal with Riley, and then decide the best course of action. Leaning against my driver's side door was Stefan a sad look on his face.

"I heard what Elena said. I'm sorry."

"No, your not Stefan," I said, trying to sound like I didn't care but failing. "Don't try to act like you don't agree with her."

"It was wrong of you to force your blood on her, Damon. That much I do agree with. But you did it for the same reason that I wanted to trust Elijah so badly about the elixir—you love her—and I can't hold that against you, no matter how much I want to."

He stopped talking and looked at me, and I knew that he expected no denial. He wasn't going to get one. I loved Elena more than I ever loved anyone—Katherine included. It was for this reason that I hated myself for what I had tried to do to her—force a life on her that had to be forced on me to begin with.

Before I could say anything Stefan continued.

"It's because I know you care for her that I am giving you advance warning, if you can call it that," he said and then paused slightly before continuing. "We're leaving."

The words didn't make sense as he said them.

"Leaving?"

"Yes, Elena needs to leave Mystic Falls, Damon. Don't pretend that you don't agree. Now that this is all over, I really don't think she should stay, and she agrees. She has lost so many people here that continuing to live in Mystic Falls would be a constant reminder of them."

"When?"

"Right away. Her bags are packed and in my car as we speak. I'm sorry Damon."

I was dumbstruck. Yes it made sense, but I couldn't believe that it was all happening so quickly. Then the pain shot through my arm, and I was reminded of my death sentence, the ticking time bomb that would most likely kill me painfully within the next few days, and I was relieved. This would spare her the pain of seeing my body turn against me and the regret she might have of not forgiving me in time, even if I didn't deserve it. I took a breath before looking up into my brother's face again.

"I understand, Stefan. Please just promise to take care of her."

"You know I will," Stefan responded.

He then turned to walk towards his car. Once he got in, I saw him exchange a few words with Elena and then backed down the dirt path that lead out of the cemetery.

As I watched them turn left onto the main street and leave my view, my heart fell.

"Goodbye Elena," I whispered.

**A/N: Let me know what you think! Reviews are appreciated **


	6. Chapter Five

**A/N: So I think I am going through TVD withdraw. I love summer time, but it means no new episodes till fall. I have noticed that I am reading a lot more fanfiction because of it. Thank you to those of you that reviewed last chapter! Givemefire, I am so glad that you are enjoying it. I hope that it stays interesting for you! Ghostwriter, I know it's sad haha. I was sad writing it. Hopefully it's sad in a good way though : )**

I took my time driving home. My mind was racing over all the things that I wanted to block out: Elena leaving, the bite on my arm, and the slim chance that maybe, just maybe, Bonnie would pull through and find some way to keep me alive. I still hadn't sorted through all my thoughts when I found myself pulling into the driveway of the boarding house, the sun setting just behind it.

I turned the car off and headed towards the door, when I realized that all the lights in the house were on and music was blaring, music that was extremely loud for even human ears. Confused, I turned the handle to the door and let myself in.

"Riley?" I practically shouted above what sounded like something from Breaking Benjamin.

I walked through the foyer and the kitchen finding no one. It was when I entered the main sitting room that the smell of booze hit me, and I found Riley sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the coffee table that littered with different sized liquor bottles. Her black curls hung loosely down her back, still slightly damp from the shower that I supposed she had taken.

I crossed the room to turn the music down which got her attention. She looked up at me, her bright green eyes already glossy from drinking.

"Glad to see you've made yourself at home," I said.

She smiled and downed a shot of whatever she currently had in front of her.

"Care to join me?"

I didn't have to think about the response to that question for very long. After talking with Stefan and watching Elena and him leave, I knew I would return home to drink.

"Sounds amazing actually," I responded as I slid down to a sitting position beside her, resting my back against the couch. "It is quite nice of you to offer me my own alcohol in my own house."

I gave her a smirk and started to pour myself a shot of Jack. Instead of answering, she motioned for me to pour her some as well.

"Heavy drinker?" I asked, obligingly filling her glass.

"As of recently," she slurred, once she had downed the whiskey.

"Wolfy thing stressful?" My voice had some bite it in when asking this, still resentful towards her for what she couldn't control.

"Actually not that recent," she said with a laugh, ignoring my jab. "My life has been really crazy as of late, the 'wolfy' thing is a new development."

Riley leaned her head back onto the seat of the couch and closed her eyes. She didn't speak for a few minutes so it surprised me when she started talking again.

"So what about you? Crappy life as well? You have a lot of liquor for someone who's life is rainbows and butterflies."

I sloshed the liquid around in my glass and sighed.

"Definitely no rainbows and butterflies here," I said with a sad smile. I paused a moment to contemplate how much I should divulge to this random girl. The mixture of alcohol in my system and the impending doom I was facing pushed me towards not caring if she knew my woes.

"The girl I love just left town for good, I think," I started, staring at the floor in front of me. "Not that it matters that is…..she's my brother's girlfriend. Plus she hates me because I tried to turn her."

"Turn her?"

"Ya," I responded. "I fed her my blood because I didn't want Klaus to kill her."

"Wow," Riley said, clearly not knowing how to respond. Heck, she hadn't even believed in werewolves and vampires a few days ago. "I-I'm sorry."

I pushed off her pity for me as I filled another shot full of whiskey.

"I guess this is still all so weird for me—werewolves and vampires. I mean it's crazy isn't it?"

"The craziest," I said, as I rolled my head back onto the couch, closing my eyes.

Suddenly, I felt her breath on my face. My eyes popped open, and before she could back up, I saw her staring intently at me.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked startled.

I could smell the alcohol mixing with the scent of her. She was on her knees next to me, swaying slightly. A look of embarrassment spread across her face.

"I was…"

"You were what?"

"Trying to get a look at your teeth..."

A laugh escaped my throat. She was clearly drunk.

"Are you serious?"

"No," she said. "I'm sorry that was stupid."

She was about to sink back down against the couch, when I caught hold of her wrist and pulled her closer to me, feeling my eyes darken and my fangs descend.

She screamed and pulled back from me. I let her go and she tumbled drunkenly onto her butt and then to her back.

I started to laugh again as I watched Riley pull herself back into a sitting position next to me.

"Not funny," she said as angrily as she could manage.

"I beg to differ. I thought you wanted to see my 'teeth.'

She shrugged me off and looked towards the window, looking out at the crescent moon, her mood taking a huge shift.

"You kill people." Her words were a mixture of a question and a statement.

This was what it always came to when humans found out about me. This was the question that they all wanted to know that answer to, but they always hated that answer. It was the answer that sent them running.

Annoyed with the judgment that I knew would come, I answered in a way that felt justified at the time.

"So do you apparently."

"Excuse me?" Despite the liquor this question was crisp and coherent. It was as though I had reached out and slapped her.

"Well that's how you became a wolf. Killing someone triggers the curse, so I really don't want your judgment on my lifestyle."

As soon as I had said it, I knew it had been a mistake. It wasn't until that moment that I remembered how confused and scared she had been when she found out what she was. She had no idea what had caused this.

"Riley," I said as tried to put my hand on hers. She pulled away and stood up quickly, almost falling in the process. "Riley, I shouldn't have—"

"That's why this is happening?" Her eyes were pleading with me to take it all back and tell her it was all a joke, but I couldn't do that.

"Riley."

She grabbed the shot glass that she had been drinking from all night and threw it at the wall. It shattered, and she screamed.

"Riley," I said a little louder as she grabbed fistfuls of her hair and sank back down onto the floor.

She cried then, and I couldn't get her to stop. She had spent the night drowning all these feelings, acting how I would have in the same situation, but my words had shattered her tough façade. I put my hand awkwardly on her shoulder wishing that I hadn't felt the need to be such an ass. I poured her more whiskey because it was the only way I knew to stop the pain.

After a few minutes, she reached up and took what was left of the bottle of Jack off of the coffee table. She nursed it for a few more minutes and then she spoke.

"My sister is dead. I was driving her to ballet and we crashed. She was nine." She stopped then and started to cry again. "It was an accident."

"It usually is because of an accident, Riley. It's not your fault."

"My parents won't even look at me. They don't blame me, but I think I just remind them of what happened. I can't even go back home."

I put my arm around her and pulled her into my side. She didn't resist. I don't think she could have if she wanted to. She was drunk beyond belief and it was going on 2 am.

"You can stay here as long as you need to," I whispered to calm her down.

She didn't respond. Her tears slowly grew quieter and fell less frequently. It wasn't long before her heart slowed to a steady beating again and her breathing became rhythmic and drawn out.

Not wanting to wake her and entirely too exhausted to make my way up to my room, I fell asleep with a werewolf in my arms.

**A/N: Reviews would be appreciated. It would mean so much to me to know what you thought.**


	7. Chapter Six

**A/N: Hey everybody. I meant to put this up on Sunday, but I got busy and totally forgot. Then yesterday my poor little Mac got sick. I can turn it on but there is no display. I had to edit this chapter with my screen projected onto my T.V., so please excuse any errors that this chapter might have. For some reason it is much harder to edit on a television. Because I have to take my dear computer to the doctor (aka the apple store), I probably wont update either of my stories till this upcoming Sunday, so please be patient. If you miss me too much and you haven't started to read my other TVD fanfiction you could always do that! Lol**

**Sorry for my rambling… Enjoy!**

The sun was shinning through the tall windows in the sitting room when I woke up with the taste of whisky in my mouth. I tried to move but was stuck under what seemed like a mess of limbs. When I moved the arm that was lying across my chest, I realized that the mess of limbs was really just Damon. We were laying on the floor in-between the couch and the coffee table. I pushed him to the side and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I tried to remember what happened the night before.

I knew I had drank a lot with Damon, I had asked to see his teeth, and-. It was then that I had remembered telling him about Jenny, about the crash that had killed her. Crap. I bet that had been great conversation.

I pushed the thoughts of my sister to the back of my head where they had stayed safely until last night. I needed normalcy, anything that would calm my nerves and make me forget about the crap that had been going on. It was then that I knew exactly what I needed.

I scurried for a small sheet of paper and pen and wrote Damon a quick note explaining where I would be. I didn't want him to think that I was ungrateful for his help and had run off yet again. Once that was lying beside him for when he woke up, I hurried upstairs to where I had found my suitcase of clothes and belongings last night after my shower. Damon must have gone back for my car sometime while he had me in the cellar or when I was with Klaus.

I threw on my athletic shorts, a tank top, and my running shoes and left the house, starting out jogging down the block.

As my feet sped up on the pavement, the stress of the past month melted away as I knew it would. Running had always been a way for me to relax, to sort out my life. When Jenny had died, it became more than that. It was a way to run from my problems without actually leaving—a way to escape the blank stares of my mother and the curt comments of my father.

Before I knew it, I was in downtown Mystic Falls, if you could call it that. It was a small town. Almost picturesque. It had the necessities of life—a courthouse, post office, small town grocery store. It even had a small grill, the one I had met Klaus in on that fateful day that I had run from the boarding house.

Contrasting the small town feel was the money that some of the homes obviously consisted of. The boarding house and the Lockwood's home were only a few of the big homes that lined the nicer streets. They were old, some probably dating back to the late 1800's. Landscaped yards were prevalent with these homes, and I could see fancy parties being held frequently on them.

The great thing about the town, though, was that everyone seemed so friendly. I was a stranger to this town, yet almost every person that saw me waved; whether they were watering their huge lawns or struggling with their children at the local grocery store. I smiled and waved back at each one, and I realized that this could be a place where I could stay for a while, somewhere where I could start over.

After running about five miles, I decided to return to the boarding house. My stomach was growling angrily at me when I finally arrived. To my surprise as I opened the door, the smell of homemade breakfast wafted towards me. I made my way to the kitchen to find Damon cracking eggs in a frying pan as waffles cooked in the iron.

"Glad to see you came back this time," Damon said with his back towards me.

"How did you know I was here?"

He turned towards me and smiled.

"Vampire hearing….one of the many perks." He walked over to the waffle iron emptied the contents of it onto a plate with an egg and slid it onto the table where a glass of orange juice was waiting. "A peace offering for me being dick last night."

He obviously felt bad about bringing up my sister so harshly last night. I smiled.

"Just last night?" I jabbed playfully.

"Ok, so for being a dick ever since you arrived. And for that I am truly sorry."

I could tell that he meant it, so I decided to sit and accept his offering. I was starving from my run anyways.

As I started to eat, Damon poured more batter onto the waffle iron and cracked another egg.

"Whoa!," I said. "This is plenty for me. I don't need anymore than this."

"So I'm not allowed to make myself anything?"

My chin dropped, and I didn't know what to say. Vampires eating waffles?

"Didn't think I could eat any other way than by tearing the throats out of innocent young girls?" he asked jokingly.

"Ummm…. Actually yes."

Damon chuckled.

"It's no O negative, but I can eat it." He paused for a moment, as if contemplating his next words carefully before continuing. "To answer the question that I was too rude to answer last night—about killing people—I'm abstaining from that… currently."

This shocked me a bit. How could a vampire not kill to live? As if reading my mind, he continued.

"Sometimes the hospitals get a little confused about why their blood supplies are low, but the bags of blood in the fridge can be a tasteless substitute."

"You seem happy about that," I joked.

"Ya, well lets just say it's a new diet for me."

His words sounded final, so I didn't pry. I personally didn't want to anyway. I would rather not hear about the people that had lost their lives to his hunger in the past.

The light on the iron lit up then and Damon removed his waffle and made his way toward the seat beside me. Before he made it, though, he doubled over in pain. A growl escaped his throat, and his plate fell to the ground, shattering on contact.

"Oh my gosh, are you ok?" I asked.

He straightened and turned away from me. Through gritted teeth he responded.

"Yeah, I-I'm fine."

I hopped down off the stool I was sitting on and went to his side to see what was wrong. As I put my hand on his shoulder, he whirled around and growled again. His eyes were dark and his fangs sharp. I gasped.

"Don't. Touch me right now." His words were fierce. I recoiled and his demeanor softened, his eyes lightening as he began to talk again. "I'm sorry. I just need to go sit down for a second."

Without looking back at me, he walked to the sitting room where we had been drinking last night, the bottles still scattered the table. He sat and poured himself something to drink, threw it back and laid his head back on the couch, closing his eyes.

Not wanting to bother him, I started to clean up the mess he had left on the floor. His voice shouted from the other room.

"Riley, I've got that. Leave it, and I'll get it in a minute."

"No it's fine. I can—" I took a sharp intake of breath as blood beaded out of a tiny cut on my index finger. "Crap."

I stood to run the small cut under the water, but before I could get to the sink I felt a hand around throat, and I crashed into the wall across the room. I screamed as I looked into the black of Damon's eyes. His words were as sharp as the shattered plate I had cut myself on.

"I. Told. You. To. Stop."

"Okay, Okay," I squeaked past the hand on my throat. "Damon, stop."

Damon roughly grabbed my wrist, looking intently at the small bead of blood sitting perfectly on the tip of my finger. It was then that I saw the hunger in his eyes, and I became truly frightened.

"Damon, please," I pleaded.

Those words seemed to wake him from a trance. He shook his head and his eyes returned to normal. He released his grip on me, and I fell to my knees.

"I-I," I started. Then he turned his back to me walking back to the living room and pulling out his cellphone.

Shaking, I got to my feet and made my way to the sink, turning on the hot water. I ran my quivering hand under the water and then pressed a paper towel firmly to the cut to stanch the bleeding. From the sitting room, I could hear Damon's muffled voice.

"What do you mean you haven't found anything, Bonnie?" He paused. "No, I'm sorry. I know your looking." Another pause. "Yeah. It's getting hard to control myself. Plus it hurts like Hell."

I walked into the room, and he looked up at me. His eyes told me I should leave until he was finished on the phone. I stood my ground. I wanted to know what was going on. He gave me a dirty look and continued talking.

"Thanks, Bonnie. Please just call my cell as soon as you find anything. If I don't answer, get here ASAP."

Damon hung up the phone and groaned. With his right hand he rubbed his eyes. His left arm lay limply, palm up on his leg.

I approached him cautiously.

"Damon? What's wrong?"

"Nothing Riley, everything's fine."

The grimace that appeared on his face following this statement made it entirely unbelievable. I raised my eyebrows in disbelief.

"Ok, so maybe it's not fine," he corrected himself.

I sat down beside him and he pulled the cuff of his shirtsleeve up past his elbow. The menacing bite mark that appeared when he did this took my breath away. It was clearly infected. What looked like black veins branched out from it up and down his arm. It looked excruciatingly painful.

"Damon! What is this? You have to go to a hospital!"

"No. I don't," he said. "Riley, it's a werewolf bite."

He said it so calmly, talking about something I didn't even know existed a couple of days ago.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means a werewolf bit me, duh," he smiled at me, trying to ease the panic that had sprung up so quickly. The smile didn't reach his eyes.

The obvious question was on my lips before I could stop it.

"I didn't do this, did I? You weren't around when—"

"No," he interrupted. "This doozy is the work of Tyler Lockwood. He was going to be used for the sacrifice, and I went to save him. He turned before he could get somewhere safe. The thing is I can't even really blame him, which sucks."

I processed what he had just said.

"So how do you make it better?"

The way he looked at me made me realize I wasn't going to like the answer. His ice blue eyes bore into mine.

"You don't."

"I don't understand," I said shaking my head.

"There is no known cure. I've got a witch looking for one, but no luck so far."

We sat in silence for a while, me looking at the infectious looking wound on his arm, him nursing his booze yet again.

I jumped when he spoke.

"Listen, as you saw before, this thing is making it really hard for me to stay away from blood right now, and unfortunately for you, your heart is sounding delicious underneath that pretty little chest of yours. You should probably leave."

"I'm not leaving," I said immediately.

He got up from his sitting position and downed the rest of the whiskey in his glass.

"Then I think it's your turn to lock me in the cellar," he said as he headed toward the basement door looking defeated.

**A/N: Please consider leaving a comment to tell me what you think! It would be much appreciated! Thanks!**


	8. Chapter Seven

**A/N: New Chapter! Yay! I have been writing non-stop. It has become much easier to type with my screen projected on the T.V. To give you guys a computer update: I have an appointment to get it fixed today. The sad thing is they might have to keep my poor little Mac for a few days ****–sob- So I am updating this story a little earlier than my usual Sunday post and I am also updating my other fanfic today! –cheers of excitement- Plus I have a surprise for you all…. And I'm not going to tell you till the end of this chapter… So get to reading! Lol**

**Enjoy:**

Damon had gotten ten times worse in the past few hours. He had insisted I lock him in a room that I hadn't seen in my previous visit to the Salvatore basement. The door was made of solid wood with just a small open window reinforced with steel bars.

"Damon," I said as he was closing himself in. " I don't know about this. I can barely see you. What if you need help?"

"The biggest help you can be is to answer my phone if Bonnie calls," he said looking out at me. "I don't want you down here Riley."

I stubbornly told him I was staying. That didn't make him happy.

"Fine, but remember, no blood. Don't give it to me no matter how much I beg. It will only make me stronger, and you wont want that later today."

Since that conversation, we hadn't said much. His groans came occasionally from the other side of the door. I sat on the dirt floor on my side listening to them grow more frequent. I had only left to get him some more whiskey to dull the pain. Any time that I had said something to comfort him, it was useless. He blew me off, telling me once again to leave.

It was because of this lack of communication that it surprised me when he started talking early that evening. His voice was strained and weak and there had been no call from Bonnie. It was looking hopeless, and I was growing panicked.

"The woman that you were looking for…Jules… she tried to do this to me."

I was so started by his voice that I jumped from my stupor.

"What are you talking about, Damon?" I asked like a mother asking her sick child what his babbling was about.

"Jules, she came to kill me. She bit Rose instead."

"Damon, I don't know what your—" 

"She got sick, Riley. She got real sick."

I didn't say anything then. I pulled my knees to my chest and silently listened to Damon tell the story of Rose.

By the end of his tale, I had tears running down my face. Damon had watched a woman that he cared deeply about go through the same pains that he was facing now. I was enthralled by his story, so detailed for the level of pain he was in, yet repulsed by the knowledge that this same fate was his.

Tears were in his voice as he continued.

"I staked her. I didn't want her go through that pain. There was nothing I could do."

It was like he was reassuring himself that he had done the right thing in ending Rose's life. Asking himself if he would have wanted the same.

It was then that coughing came from within the cell. I stood to my feet and peered through the bars. Damon was sitting against the far wall, elbows on his knees holding his head as he coughed up blood. I watched not being able to do anything to help him. When his coughing fit was over, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked up at me.

"It's why I hated you, why I hurt you that first day. I knew you didn't know anything. I could tell within the first five minutes, but I wanted to hurt you for what she did to Rose."

"It's okay, Damon—"

"No, it's not," he almost shouted. "It's not okay, and I'm sorry."

It was then that he started to cry. I was taken back. The man that had mercilessly hurt me days before, the man that drowned his sorrows in alcohol only the night before was silently crying. He looked so weak and defeated that I realized at that moment that he needed comfort just like I had needed comfort the night before.

Hesitantly, I took the key to the cell out of my pocket and unlocked the door. I slowly made my way across the small room and approached, Damon. I didn't think that he even realized that I was there. He was in his own world of pain and despair. I crouched down beside him and enveloped him in a hug, hoping that it would help even if it was the most minuscule act.

I should have realized it was coming when he became unusually quiet. His shoulders had stopped shaking, and I felt like something was wrong, but I understood what was happening too late.

The next thing I knew Damon was on his feet, staring down at me with blackened eyes. He growled and flung me across the room like I was a rag doll. I felt my body hit the stonewall and fell into a crumpled heap on the dirt floor. I groaned.

"Damon? What are you—"

Before I could finish my question, his hand was around my throat for the third time in just a few short days. He slid me up the wall and soon my feet were dangling inches off the ground. I grabbed helplessly at his hands, trying to free myself to get some air.

My vision started to go black and spots started swirling in my vision.

"This is for killing Rose, you bitch."

Panic sprung up in my brain. He was hallucinating. He thought I was Jules and he was going to kill me. I opened my mouth to explain myself, but nothing came out. There was no air in my lungs to make even the tiniest sound. As blackness was taking over my vision, I felt myself being tossed to the ground and then I was gone.

…

"You have got to be kidding me," a voice said frantically in the darkness.

Suddenly someone was shaking my body. I groaned. A hand connected sharply with my face. Someone had just slapped me!

I sat up straight and realized that I was in the cell that Damon had been locked in—except there was no Damon. Holy crap, there was no Damon. I remembered the look in his eyes, and I started to panic. It was then that I realized another person was standing in the room with me. I realized then that it must be Bonnie.

"What happened!" she yelled at me. I didn't like the tone in her voice. Yes this was my fault, but she shouldn't just assume that. "I called like a million times and no one answered!"

"I thought it was safe…" I started. Then I realized that she had said that she had called, and I pulled Damon's phone out of my pocket. "You called….. that means—"

"I found a cure," Bonnie finished for me. "But it looks like you have no vampire to cure. Where is he?"

"I-I don't know," I admitted. She looked at me condescendingly. "Enough with the dirty looks. How do we stop this thing from killing him?"

"_We_ don't do anything," the witch said. "You do."

"Me," I said, shocked. "What can I do?"

Bonnie sighed.

"Everything that I have found—which isn't much—says that a werewolf's blood cures a werewolf's bite. So Damon should be safe if he drinks your blood."

I let out a sigh of relief and smiled, if that was all there was to it…. As if reading my mind Bonnie continued.

"The cure is much harder to complete in normal circumstances. Normally vampires don't have random werewolves held up in their homes, especially werewolves there are _speaking _terms with. Werewolves and vampires are natural enemies so in most cases it would be nearly impossible to get a wolf's blood in the infected vampire's system before it's too late."

"Thank God for irregular cases then, huh?" I said with a smile. "All we have to do is find Damon and give him some of my blood, right?"

The frown on Bonnie's face proved otherwise.

"Technically yes," she said slowly. "The thing is, he is already gone. We have to try to find him before he kills anyone. Plus, this is extremely dangerous for you, so you might want to think about the consequences first."

"I think I can handle myself, Bonnie," I replied.

"I don't think you understand the lust for blood that a vampire has, _hun_," she paused and smiled at me as an adult would smile at a child when explaining a concept way above their head. I didn't appreciate it. "If Damon fed on you on a regular day he would have a hard time stopping. Because of the increased bloodlust that the bite is causing him, you'll be lucky to be alive by the end of the night, especially because what I have read says that werewolf blood is one of the sweetest blood types for vampires to drink. The witches who made the curses aren't going to make it easy for you to throw off their balance."

We stood in silence for a few minutes, while I contemplated what she had just said. If I decided to help Damon, there was a huge chance that I could die. Would I take that risk for someone that had admitted to willingly causing me pain for something I had no control over? For someone that had done and said things multiple times to watch the misery that it would cause me?

"So, what do you want to do?" Bonnie's voice brought me back to the reality at hand.

"I don't know," I admitted. "But we can't let him kill people, so we at least have to bring him back home."

Bonnie nodded.

"We can take my car."

…..

As we drove up to the high school, I could see that what Bonnie had said was right. This would be the perfect place for Damon to come. There were people everywhere. The school was holding a community outdoor theatre to raise last minute funds for their senior trip. _Gone with the Wind_ was playing on a large homemade screen, and it was hard to tell people apart in the sea of bodies.

As we got out of the car, Bonnie confirmed that Damon was among the crowd.

"How do you—"

"It's a witch thing," she responded before I could even ask my full question. "I can feel his presence. You go to that way."

She pointed off towards the school building as she started to head the other way.

"Text me if you find him, and I'll come running," she said.

Once she had started to head off in the direction of the movie, I started scanning the crowd for Damon. The push of bodies was all around me, and I imagined them all as a late night snack for a hungry vampire. Panicked, I picked up the pace.

After searching for about ten minutes, I wondered off to the student parking lot, hoping to have better luck in the secluded area. That is when I heard it. It sounded like the strangled cry of a young girl, much like the sound I had made as Damon forced me up against the wall of the kitchen and then again in the cellar. I raced through the maze of cars to find Damon with a girl a few years younger than myself—his hips pinned her up against the red convertible they were standing at, his lips traced her throat. My heart hammered in my chest.

"Damon," I yelled.

He didn't hear me. His mind was solely on the girl in front of him. He nibbled at her throat, almost kissing it gently. A pang of absurd jealousy shot through me unexpectedly, but I pushed it out of my mind.

I yelled his name to no avail. He wasn't going to turn towards me. I took a step towards him and felt the stones of the parking lot beneath my feet and an idea popped into my head.

I bent down to grab the sharpest stone I could find and held it to my wrist. Bonnie had said that a werewolf's blood was sweeter than normal human blood to a vampire. I could distract him.

I took a deep breath, preparing to slice my skin, but fear of the pain held me back. It was then that I heard the girl's sharp intake of breath and her piercing scream as Damon bit into her neck, and I knew I had to do it. I slid the rock across the thin layer of skin on my wrist, and the blood rose immediately out of the cut I had created. I looked up to see Damon lift his head from the girl's throat and turn to me. He pushed the girl into the car. She was hurt but she would be fine. I, on the other hand, was in trouble.

I turned to run towards the school, praying that the door would be unlocked. I could get into the school and find a room where I could lock the door. I fumbled with Damon's phone in my pocket, remembering that I needed to call Bonnie. She could come and help me. As I pulled the phone out of my pocket, though, it slipped through my fingers, landing on the hard cement that I was now running across to get to the school doors. There was no going back for it.

When I got to the front doors of the school, I was relieved to find them unlocked. I burst through them and slammed them shut, though I knew that it wouldn't stop Damon. Once inside, I looked around frantically for somewhere to hide.

I burst through the first open doors I came to and slammed them shut behind me. When I turned to see where I was, I realized that it was the library. Taking a chair, I jammed the door and ran to find a place to hide. In the back of the large room was a little alcove with couches and chairs, most likely reserved for a place to study quietly behind the bookshelves. I scurried into the space and tried to calm my breathing.

The library door flung open within a few minutes of my own entrance, and I knew that I was done for. The smell of my blood would bring him here, and I would die.

Within seconds, Damon had found my hiding place. The bite on his arm was so much worse than it had been all nigh,t and I could see the hunger and pain in his eyes as he approached me slowly, almost tauntingly. He reached out and pinned me to the couch I was sitting on. He took my wrist as I struggled against him and was about to bite into it when his behavior changed suddenly.

Damon looked into my eyes frantically, then around him clearly wondering where he was. He licked his lips, tasting the other girl's blood on them.

"What have I done," he whispered, looking at me. Then remembering the situation at hand asked pleadingly: "Bonnie, did she...did she not find anything? You have to get me home… you have to—"

Before he could finish he doubled over again, a groan escaped his lips. I couldn't handle watching him in pain.

"Bonnie found a cure," I blurted out before I could stop myself.

Damon's head shot up.

"What?"

"She found a cure," I paused before making my decision to tell him. "It's me, Damon."

"You? What does that mean?"

"My blood. If you drink my blood it will get better. It will go away."

He looked at me and shook his head.

"No, there has to be another way."

"There isn't," I explained.

I held out my wrist that had the blood trickling down it. His eyes grew dark again, but he backed up.

"You don't understand, Riley. I wont be able to stop."

"I know."

His eyes registered shock when he realized what I was asking him to do.

"No," he said stubbornly, shaking his head. "Riley, get out of here."

I stood up and came towards him. Damon backed up into the bookshelf behind him, trying to stay away from me. I pressed up against him, trying to make him snap.

"Please, Damon," I whispered. "I want to do this."

Anger flashed through his face.

"You want to do this because you don't think your life is worth living," he growled. He wanted to hurt me so I would stop trying to save him. "A dead sister and some changes in your life aren't reasons to throw it all away. Stop being an idiot."

His words hurt, but I reminded myself that he was desperate to get me to leave him while he still was conscious of what he was doing.

"My dead sister is _not_ why I am doing this," I growled.

"Then why?" he asked.

I bit my lip nervously, intentionally nipping the soft skin inside and then brought my face closer to his.

"Because for some stupid reason I care about you, Damon."

I saw the shock register in his face at my words and as I closed the space between the two of us.

He resisted as our lips met and he tasted the blood that had surfaced there from me biting my lip, but as I predicted his hunger took over. Damon's hands went to the small of my back, pulling me violently into him as his kiss deepened. He groaned as the blood hit his taste buds and he pulled away.

"No," he whispered. "Riley, run."

But I didn't run. I continued to let him kiss me, to suck on my bottom lip as his eyes darkened and the hunger for my blood grew in him. It was when the kissing turned to a painful piecing of my lip that I knew he had lost himself again. I gasped in pain, which only encouraged him.

Suddenly he was whirling me around, slamming me into the bookshelf that he had been leaning on seconds before. His fangs left my lip, and I took a sigh of relief. He had stopped. He wasn't going to kill me, and he would live.

Soon after I thought this, I realized that I was wrong. His mouth opened wide and then his fangs pierced through my neck. I screamed, but his hand soon covered my mouth, and I could do nothing but watch as the clock on the wall across from me ticked down the last seconds of my life, and I faded into darkness.

**A/N: AHHH! I am loving Riley so much! She is a blast to write! Please tell me what you think. Reviews make me a happy camper!**

**And now for the announcement…..**

**A new story! **

**I know, I know. Your thinking: "How can she possibly keep up on three stories… let alone keep them straight?" I am actually thinking the same thing. But I was rewatching the last episode and a line that Damon says really got me thinking. What line you may ask? "You should have met me in 1864. You would have liked me." : ) Can anyone guess what it is about?**

**Anyways thinking more about it, I realized that it would let me explore some things that I didn't see any other way to address so it should be interesting…. Totally crazy but interesting. So please check it out. I'm posting it today! **


	9. Chapter Eight

**A/N: So my mac was gone so much longer than I imagined. Somehow the display went bad… poor little guy. But now I have him back and I'm back to writing. Another side note: I started my second summer class today. 16 weeks packed into 5. Despite the craziness that my life is most likely going to become, I am determined to keep updating each of my three stories weekly. If I slack I give you permission to yell and throw things at me to keep me motivated.**

**Happy Reading!**

Riley's blood washed over my tongue. I had never tasted anything so exquisitely mouthwatering. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I realized that I should stop, that I would regret my actions, but I couldn't force myself to do it. I sank to my knees on the hard floor, taking Riley with me, not wanting to miss a drop of her precious blood.

Riley's body had gone limp in my arms moments earlier. Her heart was barely beating at this point, but I was hungry for her blood and refused to stop until she was entirely drained.

Before I could consume her completely, though, my brain exploded into pain. I dropped Riley's body to the ground and grabbed my head, pressing on my temples, thinking that it would dull the throbbing. I was wrong.

_I'm dying, _I thought. _This is it._

The bite was taking its final hit and then I would be no more. Or at least that's what I thought until I heard Bonnie's voice from behind me.

"Damon," she shrieked. "What have you done?"

Shocked back into reality, I quickly took in the scene before me. Bookshelves were toppled over and books were scattered aimlessly all over the floor. Riley's body was lying in front of me, her throat covered in blood. The little bit that was left was pooling in a dark red circle on the carpet of the library. Bonnie was on her knees as well, taking her jacket off and pressing it to the wound on Riley's throat.

When Bonnie spoke again, her voice was panicked.

"Don't just sit there! Give her your blood, idiot!"

I watched as Bonnie applied more pressure, trying to stop the bleeding. I shook my head. It was too late. It was then that I heard it.

Thump…Thump, thump.

The tiniest sound of her heart, barely audible to even my hearing. I quickly bit into my wrist and pressed it to Riley's lips as I pulled her into my lap. At first there was nothing, but then I slowly started to feel the pull of her lips on my skin.

"Drink," I whispered.

I held her tightly to my body as she continued to drink more and more of my blood. The pull of her lips became stronger and her heart beat more regular. It wasn't long before her eyes slowly blinked open.

"Damon?" She whispered. "Did it work?"

He voice was so weak and it sounded as though each of her words took an extreme amount of effort to produce.

"Yes." I smiled. "Everything's fine. Everything is going to be fine."

Bonnie broke the moment.

"We have to get her to the hospital, Damon."

I felt Riley stiffen in my arms at her words.

"Why?" I asked the witch condescendingly. "I just gave her my blood. Plus she's a werewolf, she'll heal fast on her own."

"With any normal injury that would be true. She's not going to heal as fast from a vampire bite and your blood isn't going to work fast enough on a werewolf to make up for the amount of blood she lost…. If she were human it would be a different story."

"Damn witches and their curses," I muttered under my breath. I looked to Bonnie and continued. "Ok, so let's get her to the hospital."

At these words Riley literally jumped. Trying to push herself out of my arms she starting muttering protests.

"N-No. I can't go. I can't."

She amazingly pulled herself up to a standing position and backed away from the two of us, continuing to claim that she couldn't be taken to the hospital. Her heart beat frantically, and I could tell she was going to collapse before she did. Just as she was about to hit the ground, I caught her in my arms. Simultaneously the breath was knocked out of me as I saw and felt the impact of the oncoming car.

….

The car was slamming into the side mine before I had time to react. The airbag hit my chest, effectively robbing me of breath. Pain shot through my left leg and shards of glass cut my skin as they flew around me. My first coherent thought, despite all of this, was for the little girl that I somehow knew was sitting just behind me in the back seat.

"Jenny!" The voice that came from my throat was shockingly not mine own but one that I had come to know. It was Riley's. Confusion washed over me… I was remembering Riley's car accident. How was I remembering something that had nothing to do with me?

I turned in my seat, the nerves in my leg screaming in agony as I did.

"Oh God Jenny! Are you ok?"

I stopped shouting then as I saw the petite little girl in the pink leotard. Jenny was sitting in the back seat; her head slumped over on her chest, blood trickling down over her closed eyes. Tears sprung to my eyes, and I started screaming once again but this time for help, for someone to save my little sister.

My vision went black.

"Get her into emergency surgery now!" I heard a man scream somewhere near my head. I was lying down, but I even with my eyes closed I could tell I was moving. The sound of heart monitors echoed through my ears, and I felt the prick of a needle in the crook of my arm.

"What about the passenger?" a woman asked with a shaking voice. "The little girl in the back seat? The little ballerina?"

The man that answered did so stoically.

"DOA. There was nothing we could do."

I tried to listen to the rest of their words, but grief overtook me and I felt myself fading again.

…..

The library of Mystic Falls High slowly faded back into view. When I fully realized where I was, I felt tears in my eyes. What I had just experienced had felt so real. I had felt her pains, her emotions, and I thought I knew why Riley didn't want to go to the hospital. Memories of her time spent there would surely haunt her.

"We aren't going to the hospital," I stated firmly.

Bonnie looked at me in disbelief, but before she could say anything I continued.

"I'll go to the hospital and compel someone to make a house call. I'm not making her go back there."

Within an hour everything was handled. Riley was safe in my bed and the doctor that I had compelled to come to the house had promised me over and over that everything would be fine before I let him go. He had left an IV in Riley's arm and instructions to make sure she got plenty of fluids throughout the next couple of days.

After finally biding the doctor goodnight, obviously compelling him to forget everything, and convincing Bonnie that I wouldn't finish Riley off when she left, I made my way to my room. I was surprised to find Riley propped up on a mountain of pillows reading my old, battered copy of _Gone with the Wind_.

As I entered the room, she sat the book down beside her, gesturing me to sit with her.

"You know, you are fantastic at making yourself at home here," I said as I sat down beside her, pulling my feet up on the bed, crossing my ankles, and lacing my fingers behind my head. "First you drink all my alcohol, now your taking up residency in my bed…."

A smile spread across her face and she giggled.

"And you're not happy to have me in your bed?"

"Oh well I never said that." A sly smile spread across my lips and I raised my eyebrows suggestively. When my eyes fell on the white bandage on her neck, though, my smile faded into a frown. I reached up to touch it and she tilted her head approvingly so that that I could see.

I slowly peeled the bandage back a bit and felt disgusted in myself as I saw what lay beneath—a circle of jagged, ripped skin. My teeth marks were clear and pronounced. My throat went dry and it was hard to speak.

"Riley," I managed. "I'm so—"

Her finger went to my lips.

"Don't be. I knew it was going to happen."

I didn't know what to say. I thought about all the horrible things that I had done to her in the past few days, the things I had said, and I couldn't imagine why she would risk her life to save me. It was then that I remembered her words when I told her to leave, to run. She had told me that for some stupid reason she cared about me. I wondered if it was true, or if it was just something she said to get me to comply.

"Of course it was true," Riley said, interrupting my thoughts.

"What?" I asked.

"What I said, it's true, that I care."

She said the words slowly and her eyes fell to the sheets that she nervously played with in her hands. I was not thinking about what she had just said, or at least not the words. I was thinking about why she had said them, why she had brought it up.

"Why did you just tell me that," I asked slowly. I could see the hurt in her eyes as I responded as I did.

"I don't know, Damon," she almost shouted. "Maybe because you just freaken asked."

I could feel her pulling away.

"I never asked…" I said slowly.

"Yes you did! I was sitting right here!" She was infuriated.

It was then that I remembered what had happened earlier that evening at the school when I had caught Riley as she was falling to the floor. The car accident. Jenny dead in the back seat.

"Riley, I think you just heard my thoughts," I said slowly.

"What?"

"I never asked you if the things you said earlier were true, but I was thinking about it when you 'answered' me." She didn't look convinced so I continued quickly, shocking her with my next words. "I saw Jenny."

That got her attention.

"At the school, when you were freaking out about the hospital and passed out. Somehow I saw the accident. You hurt your leg." I reached down and lightly touched her left knee. A breath caught in her throat. She looked up at me. "I saw Jenny, in the back seat."

Tears threatened to spill onto her cheeks at the mention of her sister.

"How did you—"

"Were you thinking about the crash when you were telling me not to take you to the hospital?"

Riley nodded her head slightly.

"It's impossible," she whispered.

"Are you sure?" I asked in return.

I reached towards her and tucked a spiral of hair behind her ear. I had to try one thing.

"Think something," I said.

"Damon…"

"Just. Do it."

She closed her eyes squinting tightly, like a little kid making a wish. I laughed quietly.

"I don't think you need to—"

It was then that I heard it. It was like a mix between a thought of my own and a voice from Riley herself. Soft but distinctly audible.

_Kiss me. _

I hesitated for a moment too long, surprised at her simple request. Riley opened her eyes.

"This is stupid," she started to say, but before she could continue I leaned into her, capturing her lips in mine. Her heart hammered in her chest. My hands tangled in the perfect curls of her hair and a precious sigh escaped her lips.

I could feel the excitement course through her body. Not because I could hear the pounding of her heart and feel the heat of the blood in her veins, but because on some level I could feel what she was feeling, think what she was thinking. It was because of this that I knew I shouldn't stop. That she needed and wanted my hands on her just as I needed and wanted her hands on me. I could tell from the way that she purred my name and lightly bit my lower lip that she was feeling the same connection that I was, that she knew what I wanted from her.

I hesitated for just a second as I ran my hands through her hair at the nape of her neck.

"Are you sure about this?" I breathed.

Riley looked me in the eyes not saying a word, but letting her mind tell me that she most certainly was.


	10. Chapter Nine

**A/N: Hello again! I'm glad to see that you guys liked last chapter! With this new connection that Damon and Riley have you are going to find out a lot more about her past that she hasn't been very forthcoming about. It should get pretty interesting lol**

I woke up the next morning in a tangle of sheets. Clothes covered the floor of my room. Riley's head was on my chest and she was awake, drawing invisible circles on my skin clearly deep in thought. Still tired, I closed my eyes, attempting to fall back asleep for just a little longer. I failed miserably as Riley's thoughts, although not as vivid as the night before, invaded my mind.

She was in a hospital room, laying in bed and flipping through channels on the T.V. She had just flipped to CNN when a young nurse entered the room with a clipboard.

"Ms. Thompson? Are you ready for your physical therapy?"

The woman tried to sound cheery and Riley rolled her eyes from behind her.

"Did my parents come to visit while I was asleep?" she asked instead of answering the nurse's question. She knew what the answer would be. They hadn't come more than two times since the accident. The first time was before they realized that Jenny hadn't made it out of the crash. The second time they were here they had blamed Riley for her sister's death. They hadn't been back since.

"Didn't think so," Riley muttered under her breath when the nurse didn't answer.

The nurse came over to the side of Riley's bed and reached her arm out to help her up. Riley ignored the offer and pushed herself out of bed, wincing in pain as the weight fell onto her left leg.

"Wow, things are looking great!" The nurse applauded annoyingly. "Doctor Martin says that things are coming along amazingly. You should be out of here in a few weeks. Are you excited?"

"Of course," Riley responded in an obviously mocking voice. "My sister is dead and my parents hate me. I can't wait to get home!"

The nurse went into extremely caring mode and tried to make her patient feel better. Riley, however, wasn't listening. Her attention has completely consumed by the news report on the television.

"Justin Freeman, the drunk driver who was involved in a fatal car accident for one young girl four months ago, has just been sentenced to a short five years in prison for vehicular manslaughter with chance of parole after three. Yesterday's ruling came as a surprise to most in the small community."

A picture of Jenny flashed onto the screen as the news anchor continued to ramble on about the specifics of the trial, but Riley heard none of it. She felt as though the floor was falling from underneath her feet. Five years with a chance to get out in three? He stole away her sister's life and had ruined Riley's forever; he did not deserve a life of his own.

Anger flooded through her. Before the nurse could do anything, she grabbed for the medicine cart and flung it across the room. The nurse screamed.

"Oh my! I think you need to calm down!"

"Calm down? You have no right to tell me anything," Riley screamed back.

"Doctor Martin! Doctor Martin!" The nurse back peddled out of the room and returned seconds later with a whole team of RN's at her side. One with a large needle in his hand approached Riley and backed her into the corner of the room.

"Ms. Thompson. You need to calm down."

He grabbed for her arm and she pulled away.

"Don't you dare touch me," she seethed.

Her fighting was useless in the end. In minutes, the needle was in her arm and she could feel herself falling and strong arms leading her back to bed.

The next thing I saw was a green lawn; gray and black marble tombstones lining a small hill. Riley was sitting under a tree, staring at a newly dug grave in the distance. Her parents hadn't wanted her there. They had refused to let her leave the hospital and attend the funeral weeks ago because they blamed her for what had happened. She had extinguished her sister's life and ruined their family. They had ignored her protests that they should be blaming someone else—blaming Justin Freeman. Riley's eyes clouded with anger again thinking about the man that had ruined everything.

Riley's fingers had stopped tracing shapes on my chest and she looked worriedly up at me.

"Could you tell what I was just thinking?"

Not knowing how to answer, I didn't letting her come to her own conclusion. When she did, her eyebrows knit together. She was upset. I didn't want her to be.

"Riley…"

"We need to call Bonnie," she said nonchalantly, pulling my white sheets tightly around her and sitting up to get out of bed. "Maybe she'll know what's going on between us and be able to stop it."

"Stop it?"

"Well we can't just let this keep happening." She was now standing on the side of my bed, clutching at the sheet that she had drawn around her.

I reached for her hand, gently pulling her toward the bed again.

"You can't tell me that you hate it that much. You seemed to enjoy me knowing everything you were thinking last night," I taunted pulling her into me and snuggling my face into the soft of her neck. "Besides it's not like you have anything to hide."

Her body stiffened at what I thought was merely a joke.

"I just want to know what's going on," she said, trying to cover her sudden cold demeanor. "After everything that's happened, I want to make sure nothing is wrong with me."

I let the subject drop, knowing she needed her space. She tilted her head up and kissed me lightly, none of the passion from the night before remaining.

"Get a shower," I said. "I'll call Bonnie."

An hour later, Riley was finishing off a bowl of cereal as Bonnie sat across from us in the kitchen, nursing a cup of hot coffee. We had just finished relating the events of the pervious evening, minus a few details. She didn't look too thrilled.

"Are you sure that this is happening, I mean I am sure that—"

"Listen, _Matilda_, if you know something spill. If you don't, get out of my house. Is there anything in your witchy book about this?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"There isn't a lot of research on this, Damon. Werewolves and vampires really don't associate that often."

"And the little research there is says…." I said condescendingly, pushing her along.

"That there is a connection between supernatural beings that share blood," she said quickly. "I'm sure your aware, Damon, that any time there is shared blood there is some sort of connection, even with humans. When non-humans share blood this connection deepens, the strongest supposedly occurring between vampire and werewolf. So I guess that this could be what your experiencing. If what you have told me is true, it seems to happen when emotions are running high whether it be grief, fear, or desire."

Before I could get a word in edgewise, Riley cut in.

"How do we stop it?"

"I don't know that you do," Bonnie responded. "With so much of each others blood in your systems, I would say that the exchange of thoughts are at their highest. As the blood leaves your body, it shouldn't be as strong and you'll be able to control it more. It may not just _go away, _though. It could be months."

Riley put her head in her hands and groaned. I put my hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly.

"It'll be okay, I promise," I whispered in her ear. I turned to Bonnie. "Thank you."

She nodded and went to leave. Riley and I sat alone in the kitchen in silence.

"I'll try to block it out," I promised. "I wont listen."

She looked up at me, a sad smile on her lips. Her eyes filled with tears.

"No, it's okay," she said grudgingly. "You might as well know everything. You deserve that much."

Before she could continue, I shook my head.

"I don't need to know anything that you aren't ready to tell me," I said. "I can try to block out the bad stuff." I smiled mischievously. "I like reading your mind for _other _things."

I leaned down to kiss her deeply and she returned it willingly.

"Mhmm," she sighed "So do I."

**A/N: My muse needs your reviews! Oh my! That rhymed… lol**


	11. Chapter Ten

**A/N: I know that it was another story's turn to be updated, but I just couldn't help updating this one first. I didn't get as much feedback about last chapter, which makes me nervous, but I hope everyone is still enjoying it. This chapter is one of my favorites by far. So enjoy and review and tell me if you like it!**

The next few weeks went by quickly. Just as Bonnie had said that it would, the mind reading faded but wasn't gone completely. Damon still liked to use it quite frequently for things that I was definitely okay with.

Once I had fully recovered from Damon's bite, I started feeling restless and found a job at the local grill. I asked Damon to compel the manager to bypass the paper work. Although he was clearly wondering why, he did it without asking and without trying to pick my mind for my thoughts.

It was while I was at work that Damon dropped by one afternoon when business was slow.

"Hey!" I said cheerfully when he sat down at the bar. My heart pattered quickly in my chest as I thought about how I had left him in bed just hours before. Clearly hearing the change of pace of the beating of my heart, he grinned wolfishly.

"You should come home," he said.

I frowned.

"Is something wrong?" I asked quickly.

"Yea, I woke up to find the bed next to me empty this morning, and I want you to come back home and fill it again." He lifted his eyebrows suggestively, and I slapped his arm.

"I can't. I don't get off till five."

"I could always compel your manager to let you leave early," Damon taunted.

I rolled my eyes and walked over to a customer that had just sat down, feeling Damon's eyes on me the entire time. A few minutes later I was back at his end of the counter, pouring him a glass of scotch.

"So, I was thinking we could go out tomorrow night," Damon said.

"Really?"

"Don't act so surprised. I don't just keep you around for the sex and booze," he joked.

I smiled. To say I wasn't a little surprised would be a lie. Damon and I were complicated to say the least. Along with all the crazy stuff that had happened in the last month, we had a mostly physical relationship. I knew that he cared about me, but we were both not exactly the most open people in the world. Plus we both had some pretty heavy baggage that we were trying desperately to avoid. Damon hadn't heard from Stefan and Elena since they had left, and I was still successfully avoiding talking about my life since the accident.

"Sooo, what did you have in mind?" I asked.

"Well, I ran into some people from the founder's council yesterday and Mrs. Lockwood invited us to a fundraiser dinner tomorrow night at her house. I've been avoiding council meetings for a while, so I thought it would be a good idea to make an appearance. Plus, I'm sure they would love to meet you."

"Oh," I said, trying not to look worried. "I really don't have anything to wear to something like that and all those people—"

"I'm sure some gracious customer will leave you a big enough tip to go buy something to wear."

I knew he was talking about himself. Even after I had told him that it wasn't necessary for him to tip me, he continued to leave gratuitous amounts of cash every time he came in for a drink. It was his way to compensate for the fact that I insisted to pay for my own cost of living.

I rolled my eyes at him.

"I'll think about it," I said as he got up and walked away, leaving a fifty on the counter.

…..

The next morning I woke up to a note on my pillow. Damon had to meet with some council members before the fundraiser. I was supposed to spend the day finding a dress and relaxing. He never gave up.

Once I was up and done with my morning jog, I left for the shopping center in the next town over and spent the majority of the day finding an outfit that would be suitable for the fancy party that I knew would make me uncomfortable.

It was not until I was dressed and ready to go later that night that I felt the full force of my nervousness. I looked into the mirror in Damon's bathroom, putting my diamond earrings in my ears. When they were in, I straightened and scrutinized my appearance.

I had finally decided on a sleek emerald green dress that intensified the green off my eyes perfectly. It was strapless and a gold trim lined the top of the bust crisscrossing over my stomach, where the dress then flowed loosely to the ground. I had chosen a gold headband to pullout the gold trim on my dress and wore my hair in its natural spiral curls. I could feel my stomach flutter as I realized that it was time to go.

I made my way down to the living room where I found Damon sitting, a glass of scotch in his hand. He turned as I came into the room.

"Wow," he breathed. "You look…. beautiful."

I blushed.

"Thanks. You look stunning as well."

It was definitely the truth. Dressed in his normal black except for the white shirt under his suit and a simple black tie, he looked more attractive than I thought possible, which was saying something.

"Well," I said. "We should probably get this over with."

"Don't sound so excited," he laughed, taking my hand and leading me to the car.

…

The Lockwood's home was beautiful. The lawn was full of caterers and a dance floor. Swing music was playing and quite a few skilled dancers were flinging their partners across the floor. I held tight to Damon's hand as he pulled me through the crowd. He grabbed two flutes of champagne from one of the waiters and made his way towards to middle-aged women chatting near the house.

"Damon," one of them called. "And this must be the lovely Riley that you have told us all about. What a lucky girl."

Damon smiled kindly at her.

"Yes, she is," he replied. "Riley, this is Mrs. Lockwood and this lovely woman beside her is Liz Forbes, she's the sheriff who keeps our wonderful town safe."

It was clear that Damon had these women wrapped around his finger.

"It's a pleasure," I said quickly.

Liz looked at me intently as Damon continued talking with Mrs. Lockwood.

"Riley, what's your last name? I feel like a know you from somewhere."

My hand tightened around Damon's at the sheriff's question and a concerned look spread across his face. Before I could think of a good substitute, I blurted out my real last name.

"Thompson. Riley Thompson, but I just moved into the area so I highly doubt that you know me from anywhere."

My response was somewhat sharp, and I regretted the tone almost immediately. Damon clearly sensed my unease and said goodbye to the women, claiming that we were going to go dance.

He pulled me onto the dance floor. The band was still playing swing and he effortlessly twirled and flung me around perfectly with the beat of the music, clearly a dance he learned first hand in a time period that no one here had been a part of. As the music slowed he pulled me close, and I could feel his question coming.

"What was that about back there?"

There was no anger in his voice, just concern. I shook my head refusing to answer. He danced me to the outer edge of the floor, near the edge of the property.

"Riley what is going on? You've been here almost a month and the only information I have about you has either been told to me while you were completely trashed or through this weird connection that we have."

I laid my head on his chest and closed my eyes, swaying rhythmically to the string music in the air. His chest rose and fell with his breath and I soaked in the moment before speaking.

"You don't want to know anything about me," I said.

I noticed that the pace of the music had picked up again. Damon was oblivious to this. His arms tightened around my waist and I felt his thumb rubbing circles on my lower back. He took one of his hands and lifted my chin so that I was looking him in the eyes.

"What makes you say that?" He asked softly. "I'm not the best with all the touchy-feely talking, but you make me want to be. You make me want to be a lot of things that I'm not."

Damon let go of my chin, this time looking away himself, clearly uncomfortable with what he had just admitted. Despite this, he continued talking.

"When I thought that you were going to die a few weeks ago, I realized that you had burrowed your way into my life in a way that I had never expected. I was so afraid that I was going to lose you. These past couple weeks have been—"

"Damon—" I said, not wanting him to continue, afraid of how I might respond. He persisted anyways.

"I want you to feel comfortable telling me things. I want to know everything about you. I-I love you, Riley."

The breath caught in my throat. I could tell from the look in his eyes that he didn't expect me to return those words. I lifted my face to his and kissed him gently on the lips, brushing them lightly against mine. Tears fell from my eyes as I whispered, "I love you, too, Damon, and that scares the hell out of me."

He kissed my forehead and I could feel a smile spread across his lips.

"You know, you are more like me than I ever thought," he laughed.

I looked up at him and he wiped the tears from my cheeks with the rough pad of his thumb. Knowing that my makeup was probably running down my cheeks with my tears, I kissed Damon once more and then excused myself to go to the restroom to freshen up. Unfortunately, I didn't quite make it.

As I entered the house, I saw Sheriff Forbes in the sitting room. She was on the phone and looked extremely worried.

"That's what I thought, Bill. I knew I had seen her face somewhere and that name, Thompson, really rung a bell." She paused. "I don't think she'll come easily either. I'll wait for back up. Just be here as soon as possible. "

The feeling elation that I had felt just moments ago disappeared as dread filled my chest. Liz hung up her cell and I pressed myself against the outside of the doorframe, praying that she didn't see me when she turned around. Once she made her way to the restroom, I raced outside looking frantically for Damon, who was no longer where I had left him. I was starting to panic when I heard his voice from behind me.

"Hey, I got us some more drinks. We'll have to wait till we get home for the good stuff, unfortunately." When he saw the look on my face the drinks were no longer on his mind. "Riley, what's wrong?"

"We have to get out of here now," I hissed grabbing his hand and attempting to pull him towards the car. He didn't move.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong. No more secrets, please."

I looked at him with pleading eyes. It didn't break his determination to get answers from me that I knew he deserved. Tears stung my eyes as I gave in.

"I'm not who you think I am," I said my voice shaking, eyes darting around for any sign of Liz.

"And who the hell am I suppose to think you are? You've told me _nothing_." Damon's voice had a tinge of anger in it. I didn't blame him, but in the desperation of the moment I snapped back at him.

"Well if you would like to ever find anything out about me we should probably leave now seeing as your good pal Liz has called for backup."

"Backup? Why the hell would she need backup?"

"Because she knows that I won't come easily."

When the confusion clouded his face, I continued.

"My sister died over three years ago, Damon. Her death isn't the one that turned me."

I started walking towards the Camaro, knowing that he would follow if not for the mere reason to get the information that would fill the now gaping holes in his knowledge of who I was.

"Riley," he shouted as he walked towards the car.

I stopped, looking back at him.

"My names not Riley," I said sliding into the passengers seat and waiting for him to get us out of there.

"What the hell do you mean your name's not Riley." Damon's voice was hard and angry. Betrayal laced his words.

My mouth wet dry and I was so afraid to tell him the truth. I knew that if I stayed in Mystic Falls it would come to this, but I had never imagined that it would happen so soon.

"Just drive. I'll explain everything on the way."


	12. Chapter Eleven

**A/N: I know that I told a lot of you in response to your reviews that this would be up like a week ago and for that I am sorry. I hope the wait was worth it! Enjoy!**

"What the hell do you mean your name's not Riley." Damon's voice was hard and angry. Betrayal laced his words.

My mouth wet dry and I was so afraid to tell him the truth. I knew that if I stayed in Mystic Falls it would come to this, but I had never imagined that it would happen so soon.

"Just drive, I'll explain everything on the way."

…

I finished the final brushstroke over Jenny's small fingers, pulling it away to see the sparkly purple paint covering her nails. She lay on her stomach, pink tutu sticking up in the air, blowing forcefully to dry the nail polish.

"Are they dry yet?" she asked, looking up at me from her position on the floor.

"No silly," I laughed. "I just painted them. It will take a few minutes."

She continued to blow on her fingers, running each one back and forth through the stream of air. It was then that my mother's voice came from the next room.

"Come get your sandwiches, girls. You don't want to be late!"

Jenny went dashing into the kitchen at my mother's words, holding her hands out in front of her as she ran.

"Don't mess up your nails!" I shouted in warning as I cleaned up the nail file and polish from the ground before following her to the table.

Mom quickly plopped our grilled cheese sandwiches onto plates, cutting Jenny's into four perfect squares, just the way she liked it. Stuffing the first piece into her mouth, Jenny turned to mom.

"Is dad coming to my recital?"

A sad look came over my mother's face. She rounded the table, taking Jenny's sandy brown hair in her hands and braiding it into the bun required for her performance.

"I'm not sure, hunny. He's sure going to try, though."

Despite her reassurance, I knew the answer to Jenny's question. Our father always seemed to be too busy for trivial things like his child's ballet recital. Now that he was running for mayor, his business had increased exponentially. I knew Jenny would be hurt as she looked into the audience and saw that he had once again missed her recital, but it was nothing new.

I ate the last bite of my sandwich and rose to grab my keys.

"Ready, Jen?" I asked.

Jenny bounded from her seat and grabbed her small duffle bag my parents had just gotten her. Ballerina's danced across the font of it, their feet leaving a trail that spelled "Jennifer."

Our mom walked us to the door, Jenny talking her ear off.

"Make sure to sit in the front row, mom. And save a seat for grandma and grandpa cause they said they were coming. And call dad to make sure he gets there on time."

Mom smiled and playfully rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes, yes," she laughed. "I will see you in an hour."

She bent down to embrace Jenny like she always did before we left to go anywhere, whispering good luck in her ear.

She rose and turned to me.

"Are you sure you don't mind taking her early? I know you could be out with your friends instead, it's just—"

"Mom, chill. It's fine," I said with a smile.

"Thanks," she replied, leaning in to kiss me lightly on the forehead. "I'll see you in an hour. I love you."

"Love you too, mom," I said as I headed out the door.

On the way to the recital, Jenny told me all about the new girl in her class, her teacher, and how someday she was going to be a famous ballerina. I listened intently, reacting at all the right times. We fell into a mutual silence and Jenny stared out the window as we got closer to the community center where the performance was going to be held. She was nervous, and it was written all over her face.

"O my gosh! Did you just see that?" I asked in mock surprise.

"No, what was it?" Jen asked, intrigued by my question and sitting up on her knees to peer out the window

"There was a huge pothole back there! It had to have been at least five feet deep!"

Jenny rolled her eyes.

"Yeah right, that's impossible."

"Oh no! There's another one!" I playfully swerved the car to the right just a hair and her eyes lit up, all traces of nervousness gone. "Did you see that?"

I swerved slightly to the left and Jenny started to giggle.

"There's one," she pointed. "Watch out!"

I successfully dogged the imaginary pothole that she found and she laughed again. She continued pointing out the dangers on the road while I safely avoided them, until she was peeling with laughter in the back seat. Tears of laughter filling my eyes, I stopped the game, seeing the community building just ahead about three blocks down.

"Are you ready?" I asked. "Got everything that you need?"

"Yep," Jenny replied excitedly. "I can't wait to show Ms. Palmer my new bag! She's going to—"

Jenny's voice was cut short by the blunt force that hit the left side of my car, sending us spinning across the intersection. Immense pain shot through my left leg as the door collapsed into my left side and the airbag from my steering wheel burst out at my chest. Glass showered around me like rain, and I heard screaming in the air. When the car had stopped the screaming continued, until I realized it was my own.

"Jenny!" I screamed immediately.

I turned in my seat, craning my neck to look behind me. My leg screamed as the clearly broken bones ground together from the miniscule movement.

"Oh God Jenny! Are you ok?"

I stopped shouting when I saw her. Her chin lay against her chest, blood running down her forehead and over her closed eyes. The entire left side of the car was crushed down on her small body. The sparkly purple of her nails mixed with her crimson blood.

I looked around me, yelling for help. Someone had to help Jenny. Someone had to call 911. The other car from the accident was crumpled and smoking beside mine, but the man seemed all right. People were gathering around the scene. A few ballerinas were pushed back by their parents. As a siren screamed in the distance, I tried to push myself out of the crumpled mess around me to get to the backseat to Jenny. Pain seared through my body at the movement and my world went dark.

Three weeks later, I sat in a courtroom. Jenny's funeral had already happened. But I hadn't been there. My parent's had seen to that. They now sat two benches over, watching as the trial of their child's killer was under way. My mother looked at me out of the corner of her eyes and my father took her hand. She had tried to approach me earlier with sorrow in her eyes, but my father had stopped her. Convinced her I was the monster that they should push their blame onto. In a way I didn't blame them, but I despised them all the same.

"Your honor, I would like to call Ms. Thompson to the stand."

At his words I rose, crutches in tow. My left knee had been shattered and physical therapy was still a work in progress. Refusing the help of those around me, I slowly made it to the stand. Sitting there, I knew what I had to do. The prosecutor had decided to use me to get the sympathies of the jury on our side.

"Ms. Thompson, on May the 26th of this year, you were involved in a car accident where you were struck from the left side by a drunk driver. Where were you headed that day?"

"To Jenny's ballet recital. She had been practicing for months." A faint smile laced my lips as I remembered her excitement, bursting into my room to tell me that she had got the part. "She was going to be Glinda to Good Witch. They were doing a ballet of The Wizard of Oz."

"Can you please recall for the jury exactly what happened three blocks from the rec center where the ballet was to be held."

I took a deep breath and did as he asked. My voice was slow and steady. I needed to get through this without having a complete breakdown. It was almost over. He would ask me a few more questions about Jenny like we had practiced. He wanted to make the jury understand just how sweet and innocent she had been so they could see the magnitude of Freeman's crime. What came next was unexpected.

The lawyer pulled out an enlarged photo from a portfolio on the evidence table. I immediately guessed what would be on it before he turned it towards me. My palms started to sweat.

"Ms. Thompson, can you identify this as your sister Jenny Thompson."

My world spun as he turned the photo towards me. I hated him in that instant. He had tricked me. I knew why he hadn't told me he would do this. It was obvious. He wanted pure, raw emotion. Emotion that would turn the jury to our side instantly. It worked.

Tears spilled down my cheeks as I saw the bruised and broken body of my innocent baby sister. Her purple nails glared at me, reminding me of our last precious hours together. Her face was caked with blood. I buried my face in my hands to block out the courtroom as I wept. Somewhere over the rustle of the jury I could hear the defending lawyer.

"Objection!" he screamed.

"Make your point, Crawson," the judge warned.

"Ms. Thompson, if you could say anything to your sister now in her final moments of life what would they be?"

We had rehearsed this question over and over. I knew what my answer was supposed to be, but he had changed the rules. He had brought that picture into this.

"I would tell her that I'll kill the bastard."

"Objection!"

"Sustained," the judge bellowed and then turning to the bailiff spoke again. "Please escort Ms. Thompson from the court room."

Arms grabbed at me, helping me to my feet gently. I shrugged them away and hobbled with my crutches out the door.

From the moment I left that courtroom, my outburst haunted me. I moved out of my parents' house as soon as I was discharged from the hospital, using the majority of my savings for the initial deposit. Night after night, I tossed and turned as dreams of making my words into a reality both comforted and haunted me.

Three years later not much had changed. I hadn't spoken to my parents since the trial, I was still working a dead-end job to try and support myself, and Jenny was still in the ground. The only things that were different were that Freeman was locked away, serving a short three to five year sentence, and the Glock that was resting heavily in my dresser drawer, hidden beneath my clothes. Occasionally, I would move aside the mess of socks concealing the weapon, looking at it with trepidation. I hardly ever reached out to touch it. It represented the destruction of life, and it scared me.

That was until one dark, silent night when sleep would not come. Flipping through the fuzzy channels of my cheap TV, I passed late night infomercials until I paused on a channel with a familiar face. A still shot of Justin Freeman starred out at me as the reporter droned on.

"A judge ruled early this afternoon to release Freeman from the South Carolina state prison after a short three years of incarceration for the vehicular manslaughter of nine-year-old Jenny Thompson. Mayor Thompson and his wife spoke out against the judges decision at the hearing today. …."

The sound of the static as I shut the TV off was the only sound in the room then. A feeling of death spread through my chest as I walked towards my dresser, slowly taking out the heavy metal weapon. I sat back on the foot of my bed and turned the Glock over in my hands feeling the destruction that resided within it. I knew what I had to do. I fell asleep that night with silent tears running down my checks and a gun waiting impatiently on my nightstand.

Ten days later I was in the next county over, following the hand-written directions I had made for myself the day before. It was dark by the time I pulled up to the faded gray house. The outside was in disrepair, the shutters looked feeble on their hinges.

I put the car in park and pulled the Glock from the glove compartment, connecting the two and running my fingers over the barrel of the gun gingerly. Taking a deep breath and muttering Jenny's name quietly to myself, I stepped from the car and headed toward the house. My feet on the sidewalk was the only sound in the night besides the pounding of my heart that resonated though my ears. The gun weighted down the right side of my jacket as I held it tightly in my pocket. I knocked harshly on the door, looking around, paranoid of someone seeing me. There was rustling from within the house and quick footsteps on a hard wood floor.

When the door opened the man starring back at me was the same that had haunted my dreams for three long years. His hair was shaggier and his eyes looked haggard.

"Can I help you?" he questioned, impatiently looking down at his watch.

There was no trace of recognition in his face. He didn't remember me and it was infuriating.

"Yea, you can bring my sister back, asshole," I seethed.

I pulled the gun out of my pocket and pointed it at him. He started to back peddle and put his hands up in a surrendering gesture. Pure fear shone in his eyes.

"Please," he begged, recognition flooding him. "I'm sorry."

I aimed at his leg and pulled the trigger. The shot rang through the air. He screamed and fell to the ground blubbering, holding his shattered knee.

Tears clouded my eyes as I stood over him pointing the barrel of the gun directly at his heart.

"Sorry doesn't cut it."

My finger tightened, and I blew him away.

My hand shook then as I looked down at the dead man lying in the threshold of his own home, and I had to use all of my nerve to keep ahold of the gun. I shook my head in confusion. The weight in my chest remained. There was no redeeming feeling, no relief that he was dead. There was just this gapping hole in my heart that mirrored the one that was now in Freeman's.

Defeated and scared, I turned to run. No one had seen me and I had to get away. It was then that I heard a sound from within the house.

"Hun? Who's at the door?"

The voice was followed by the clack of heels approaching. My eyes darted from the body on the ground to the young woman who had just appeared, a toddler straddling her right hip, his thumb in his mouth.


	13. Chapter Twelve

**A/N: New Chapter you guys! I know I shocked a lot of you last update. Lol I was successful. Now that Damon knows, a lot of you are wondering how he will react. Prepare to find out! Enjoy!**

Chapter 12

Riley stopped speaking then, her face falling into her hands. We had pulled up to the boarding house, and I listened momentarily for approaching sirens. For the moment there were none. A sob racked Riley's thin frame, and she spoke from behind her hands.

"The woman started screaming, and I ran. I got out of town before they set up roadblocks or anything." She raised her head from her hands and looked into my eyes. "I destroyed a family, Damon."

Grief washed over Riley as she openly admitted this. I guessed that it was the first time she had dared to say the words aloud since it happened. She had kept this hidden even in her mind so I would not hear it. I turned to her and pulled her tightly into my arms. I thought about the hundreds of people who had met their ends because of me, sometimes for sheer enjoyment. Then I recalled the first life that I took—how the look on her eyes in her last moments had affected me. The human part of me died that day.

My heart broke for Riley in that instant, and I pulled her even closer, running my fingers through her dark locks gently.

"I'm so sorry, Riley," I whispered in her ear.

She lifted her head from my shoulder and wiped at her tears hurriedly as if they were betraying her, making her weak.

"Rachel," she said. "My name is Rachel."

Shaking my head, I took her hand in mine.

"That may be so, but I don't know Rachel. I don't give a damn about who she is or what she has done. Riley is the girl I care about and she is the most amazing person I have ever met." I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

"Thank you," she whispered faintly.

We sat in companionable silence for a few moments before she spoke again.

"I have to get out of Mystic Falls," she said.

The simple statement of fact was obvious, but the reality of it hit me hard. She would have to leave, and that meant leaving me as well.

"I'm coming with you," I said with determination.

"No," she replied, her response was just as determined as mine. "I'm not dragging you into this."

"You're not dragging me into anything. I'm not leaving you to do this on your own. If you run, I run with you."

Clearly realizing that I would not back down, she gave in.

"Thank you," she whispered again, voice cracking. "The truth is I don't know what to do. I came here on blind faith as a last ditch effort. I don't know where to go with the police after me and the full moon so close."

She looked up at me defeated. It was obvious that she was giving up as we spoke.

"Get your stuff," I said, suddenly struck with an idea. "I know where we can go until we figure this out."

"Where?"

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that," I responded. "You've got five minutes."

She smiled and leaned over to kiss me quickly before turning to leave the car. I watched as she gathered the skirt of her emerald green dress in her hands and sped of into the house. As I stepped out of the car to follow her, I pulled out my phone and dialed Stefan's number.

"Hello?" came my brother's voice. He sounded surprised to hear from me as I had avoided contact since he left. I ran to my room and started to pack a small bag of necessities as I spoke.

"Stefan, I need to talk to Elena."

"I'm glad to hear from you as well, Damon," he responded sarcastically.

"Please, brother. It's important."

I was not one to plead, but I didn't have time to be jerked around. Liz could arrive any minute with the rest of her _Mayberry_ police squad. I could hear Elena questioning in the background, her voice getting closer to the phone as she spoke.

"Damon…" my name sounded with warning on Stefan's tongue.

"Are you serious, Stef?" I was agitated now. "I'll be a good boy. I need her help."

He obviously heard my desperation.

"Damon?"

This time it was Elena on the other end of the phone. Hearing her now, I realized that I had missed her, but surprisingly it wasn't like I had originally thought it would be when she left. Her absence from my life had become one that I could handle. Riley's was one that I now found that I could not contemplate without a sick feeling creeping into the pit of my stomach.

"Elena, I need to use the lake house."

My lack of greeting threw her off at first, but she answered quickly enough.

"What? Why?"

Not wanting to reveal my full intentions, I told a half-truth, hoping that she would accept it without question.

"Riley needs a safe place to stay other than the boarding house for the full moon later this week."

"Riley? She's still there?"

"Yeah, surprisingly not everyone leaves me, Elena."

There was venom in my words that I hadn't intended. Elena intentionally ignored it.

"I don't know why you're asking. You've been invited in. You don't need my permission."

"I _want_ your permission," I insisted, trying to sound kinder.

There was silence from the other side before she spoke again, sighing.

"Yeah, Damon, that's fine. I didn't leave any keys to give you, but I'm sure you can manage without them."

She was right.

"Thank you," I said.

I hung up the phone before I was tempted to say anything else. Riley was standing in the doorway of my room. She had changed from the gown she was wearing at the party to a baggy pair of gray sweat pants hanging low on her hips and dark purple tank top.

"A lake house?"

There was doubt in her voice.

"It's the best you're going to get before the full moon," I explained. "We can find something else once we get past that obstacle."

I prepared myself for more uncertainty from her, but it didn't come. Grabbing my duffle bag full of clothes, I took her hand, leading her back to the car.

…

After driving in silence for a while, a question that had racked my brain since Riley's arrival surfaced yet again. Why had she come to Mystic Falls? How did she know to come looking for Jules? Piecing her story together, it couldn't have been long from the time she shot Freeman to when she showed up in the forest of my backyard. What had brought her here? Knowing I would never know without asking, I risked bringing up the subject again.

Riley sighed as I asked.

"I'm sorry," I said. "Forget I asked. It doesn't matter."

"No, I'm being honest, remember? I might as well finish the story." She fidgeted in the passenger's seat and began.

"After I got out of town, I knew that I had to keep driving. My world was spinning out of control, and I didn't know what to do. Despite my common sense telling me to drive faster, I found myself pulling over at a rundown bar right across the state line. It was dingy and the neon liquor sign only had a couple working bulbs. Constantly looking over my shoulder, I entered the bar for a much needed drink to calm my nerves. I sat on the somewhat deserted end of the bar, waiting for the scotch I had ordered when the old man sitting nearest to me spoke.

'Not as comforting as you thought it would be, was it,' he said.

'Excuse me?' I responded, an edge of panic in my voice.

'The man's death. It wasn't as fulfilling as you expected.'

I rose to my feet, almost spilling the liquor that had been placed in front of me while I wasn't paying attention.

'You don't know what you're talking about,' I hissed.

Not acknowledging my fear, the man continued calmly.

'You don't know where to run and big changes are coming to you soon, Rachel.'

'You don't know what the hell—'

'Find Jules in Mystic Falls.'

Instead of fighting with the man, I sat in silence. The insistence in his voice put me at a loss for words. It was if this man knew what I was going through, knew exactly what I needed. Somehow he saw me for who I really was and yet there was no hate in his voice, just concern."

Riley stopped talking then, taking a deep breath.

"From there I drove for almost six hours to Mystic Falls in pain the entire way. Lucky for me the full moon happened to fall on the exact night of the change," she said sarcastically. "I obviously passed out in the process and ended up in your lovely basement a few hours later."

A pang of guilt hit me as she mentioned the cruel treatment I had put her through when we first met.

"Lucky for you, right?" I asked bitterly, remembering what I had done to her.

"Very lucky," she responded.

I had expected her response to be sarcastic once again, but instead I found her tone to be sincere and almost grateful, as though the first days of our rocky relationship didn't matter at all.

Before I had time to respond to her, I pulled down the rocky drive to Elena's parent's property. The lake house loomed in the distance and the stars in the night sky reflected brightly in the lake.

"Welcome to your new home for the next couple of days," I said trying to sound cheery.

Riley looked around skeptically.

"Are you sure we're safe here?"

"Yes," I promised, getting out of the car and motioning for her to do the same. "Besides, your safe no matter where you are with me around. I _am _a vampire, or have you forgotten."

A small smile touched Riley's lips then, even though it was faint. I grabbed the bags from the back seat and started carrying them towards the lake house. Within a few seconds the lock was broken, and I set the luggage inside the door, turning to Riley.

"You coming?" I asked, expecting her to follow me inside.

Instead, she stood by the car still, looking towards the calm water of the lake where the pier jutted off out into the water.

"I think I'm going to stay out here for a few a while," she said absently. "Could you give me a few minutes?" 

Reluctantly, I agreed and made my way into the house. Taking our bags up to the main bedroom on the second floor, I emptied their contents and returned downstairs expecting to see that Riley had returned to the house. When she hadn't, I looked towards the pier through the large windows facing the lake.

Riley sat on the edge of the dock, her knees pulled to her chest. I followed her gaze into the sky, stopping at the waxing moon that hung there. Only the very edge was still covered in darkness. Two days and the consequence of Riley's actions would be upon us.

Through the silence of the night, I could just make out the sniffles coming from her direction outside and the faint shimmer of tears streaking down her cheeks. An audible sob racked her frame and somewhere in the distance a wolf howled at the moon.

**A/N: Poor Riley : ( Let me know what you think! Review make me happy!**


End file.
